Reconnecting to Love
As I was sitting in my home office, looking out the glass-framed window, a large egret swooped by, headed towards the nearby lake. My heart skipped a beat as I marveled at the sight of this bird several feet away from my window.
Minutes later several squirrels ran furiously across the roof and leaped onto a branch that looked like it could barely hold them, and then they scurried to the trunk of the tree and ran down it. And a few minutes later, a red cardinal landed on another tree branch, making eye contact with me, staring me down for a good solid minute.
A sense of wonderment ran through my veins, snapping me out of my thinking mind. I’d been lost in deep thought about when this pandemic will end and the racial unrest in the Twin Cities, which has been upsetting and palpable, but has notably calmed this past week with the Chauvin verdict. The sense of unease and uncertainty, which had been floating in the cool morning air and drifting to me through the open window, dropped away, and I felt a pulsing aliveness.
My identification with my self-limiting ego lifted for a moment. A stillness, a spaciousness, and peace surfaced. I felt connected with the egret, squirrels, and cardinal.
You may call this sense of oneness, of being part of something that unites us all, God, the Universe, a higher power, energy, the quantum field. Whatever name you choose, this infinite field of possibility is within and around us at all times.
In this felt sense of oneness, you may feel a sense of coming home to your true nature, and a warmth and love opening and rising.
Among all the major world religions and spiritual traditions, the common unifying thread is love.
We are here on this earth to learn to love. When we die, this is what we take with us—our ability to love.
Our ability to love starts with being present, open, and alive to the oneness and interconnectedness of all.
Here is a short practice to remember the oneness that connects us all and gives rise to love.
1. Put your hands over your heart area.
2. Feel the warmth of your hands and breathe. Our bodies always respond to physical touch. Let your body soften and relax.
3. Say these words silently or out loud: “I am love. “(This is the mantra of the energy center in this area, often called the heart chakra).
4. Notice and feel love in your heart area. Feel this love expand, fill your entire chest, and move through your whole body.
5. Bring your focus back to your breath—your in-breath, your out-breath.
6. On your out-breath, drop your shoulders and sing or intone, the sound “YUM” or “AH” (These are heart chakra vowel sounds.)
7. Practice sounding “YUM” or “AH” for the next couple minutes.
8. Notice the vibration in your chest area and in your whole body. You are awakening your heart, the seat of your soul.
9. End by saying, “ I Am.”
Sitting in my office, I put my hand over my heart and feel love moving through my body. I grab my coffee and take a sip before my first Zoom call. I hear my daughter yell out the back door for our dog Bella, who is chasing squirrels and running laps around the yard. A flock of geese in a V-shaped formation fly over, squawking.
I smile, feeling love and gratitude.
We are always connected to something greater.
When we tune into this felt oneness, we reconnect with the deep love that resides within us all.