Being At One With Yourself

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By D. Cummings

Thoughts about interesting topics are most prolific when I lay me down to sleep. I don’t know why; guess it’s a writer’s thing. As I tried to slumber off, the thought came to me about what it might mean to be at one with one’s self. I wondered how it feels and how, if at all, it changes a person’s life, whose at one with his or her self, that is. Moreover, I questioned whether it is at all possible to be at one with your self.

I suppose this question came to me particularly since for the past 2-3 years I have made it a mandate to connect or reconnect with myself, if I was ever so connected. Only when I accomplish the connection with self will I know for sure whether the connection is in fact a reconnection, and will also better understand what I have been missing in myself. I do know I have drifted far and wide from my natural core self. Ever since, I have embarked on a quest of finding myself and seeking to be at one and at peace, not only with myself but also with the universe.

I know time and tide effect changes on us, but we never should part from our true core self. That is something which is fundamental and supposed to remain constant in order for us to effectively function and fulfill our given purpose on earth. Of course, you can do things differently because you process things differently at various stages of your life. However, you should remain resilient and true to the self.

Once you drift from being who you are, in core, then it is time to be concerned because you can at least deduce that the vicissitudes of life have not only affected you externally but also internally. The only time it may be permissible to welcome a change of our core self is if we are changing or have changed from bad to good. Departing from your core self does not suggest you have become worst off, but your balance and functionality may suffer.

If our core self is good we ought to keep it steadfast in order to maintain the good order of things. When we change from being our core true self we tend to encounter more problems with balancing our lives, and sometimes our lives get out of control before we realize what is really happening. We function at our best when we are our true self. Being someone else or trying to be someone else only serves to confuse us and others, and tips us off our epicenter, and our equilibrium. The result? Personal and spiritual torment and chaos—to the very least.

So realizing I now have myself an assignment to find out the truth about being at one with the self, I decided I will do some research on the topic, but then changed my mind, as I wanted my thoughts on the topic to be pure and purely dug from within my own mind and soul. I also tried to get comments from my friends on Facebook on the topic. Well, let’s just say that didn’t really yield fruits. Maybe my question was too deep, or people were too busy with bread and butter issues, or with gossip, than to worry about what may appear to be a ‘mundane’ thought, which is, for them, what it means to be at one with his or her self. Come to think of it, how many people do you think really stop to ask “What does it mean to be at one with myself?” or “Am I at one with myself?” Couldn’t be very many, and dare I say, without intent to offend, that those who actually think about it are probably more likely to be persons who seek inner truths, and inner knowledge and those who have a sense of spirituality, and willing to dig deep beneath the surface of the superficial.

So, what might it mean to be at one with one’s self?

In order to achieve oneness with self you first need to know what or who your self is. Otherwise, how could you be at one with something you are unaware of or do not know intimately?

In one of my earlier articles, Who Am I: The Power of Knowing and Understanding Self, it was noted that “One of the keys to prosperous living is knowing and understanding one’s self. It’s like finding your identity and so be able to determine your purpose.” “Put simply, who you are is about how you think, behave, act and react.”

Further, “…who we are, in purest form, is the sum total of our environment plus our experiences minus genetics.” I say minus our “genetics” because we have no control over what type of genes we inherit from parents and fore parents. However, we have the power to help shape negative genetics into positive living experiences, if we are conscious and in tune with ourselves and what is best for us. Outside of our genes, or sometimes even inclusive of them, we as beings are the combination of mind, body, and soul, together with the aggregate of all of our experiences, negative and positive.

Consider this: Do you stop to listen to your heart beat, or hear yourself breathe, or breathe in deep breaths of fresh air, allowing it to engulf and refresh your lungs? Or are you barely breathing? The two very things responsible for us being alive every day—a heartbeat and breath—we take utterly for granted. You see seeking oneness is about thinking inwardly, and processing even the simple things that are best for the body, mind, and soul. It is about reaching deep down into the bosom of your inner being and yanking out things you could not have imagined existed inside of you.

Being at one with one’s self entails a synchrony of the three critical components of what makes us a human being. Those components are the mind, body and soul, and they all together make up the SELF.

The mind is our consciousness; the body is the physical realm of our being; the soul being the spiritual aspect and the part of us which is superior and ultimate over the rest of us. The soul serves as the filter for everything that occurs to us in life, and no affliction is too great for the soul to understand and heal in its own powerful way. But the soul isn’t impeccable; it too can become contaminated if we constantly allow the mind to filter filth into our soul’s system, so much so that it becomes clogged with debris left behind by our corrupt mind. So in other words, to achieve efficiency in the function of the mind, body, and soul there has to be constant purging so that cleanliness, peace, and tranquility, inner perfection, and oneness can pervade our daily life. This act of continuous purging is a hallmark of Christian living.

Despite the chaos which subsist in our outer being—in the world—we must constantly strive to not let it disturb the very peace inside of us.

I rather suspect that no one ever achieves in totality a connection and perfect synchrony of being at one, however. Otherwise, we may be rendered perfect beings, and there is no telling the release of inner power that can come with such an accomplishment. In perfection we will become God, and we are NOT.That may explain why we always struggle with some aspect of our lives, are constantly agitated, never satisfied, and therefore we really never achieved this coveted oneness some of us may seek. It is like we live our entire life trying to find the missing link, the missing piece of the puzzle, if which we only lay hands on will complete our life and therefore bring perfection.

In order for the mind, body, and soul to slide effortlessly and smoothly into each other, thus achieving synchrony, the mind and soul must be uninhibited by the burdens of the likes of issues such as unforgiveness, jealousy, envy, grudges, malice, deceit, etc. Notice I didn’t mention the body. This is because the body, even if in an afflicted state can be catered to, protected—even cured—if the mind and soul are fused together in purity, i.e., when and where they are not themselves afflicted by the burdens of the world.

Things that might signal you are either at or in the process of being at one with you.

Purpose

When you are at one with yourself, you know what your primary purpose in life is, to the very least, and have some degree of awareness of your secondary purposes. I always knew there was a reason I was brought into this world. But my spirit was uneasy, since I took a long time to really understand what my purpose here is. If you are not in touch with yourself it is even more difficult to understand your purpose, even if someone points it out to you. Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life would later come to help put things in perspective for me.

So why are you here? Are you supposed to be a helper, a healer, a follower, a leader, a humanitarian, a lover of people…?

At oneness you know your weaknesses and your strengths; what motivates you, what make you do what you do—good or bad—or cause you to respond the way you do, whether positively or negatively. You know you are beautiful inside and out, in spite of society-recognized flaws, and continuously strive to achieve the best possible version of your self.

Being at one with your self also includes achieving the following:

·        Self-acceptance

·        Self-respect

·        Self-worth

·        Self-forgiveness (which incidentally goes hand in hand with forgiveness of others)

·        Self-esteem

·        Self-confidence

·        A sense of self-worth

·        And a submission to God, or (for others) a recognition and acceptance of some ultimate, infinite supernatural being to whom we subject ourselves to as being inferior to that superior, and to whom we give the whole of ourselves—without reservation.

Being at one with you also involves being at one with the universe; understanding that despite the ills which it has thrown at you, you ought to remain focused, and refused to become or remain angry, embittered, or disturbed by your unpleasant experiences. See the universe as a friend, not a foe. Our greatest enemy can sometimes be our self.

In oneness, we are contented, we experience true joy, we are kind and are able to love without reservations, we are not selfish, we are willing to forgive, we are honest, and honest with our self.

At the end of the day, achieving oneness with self may not be an easy task for many of us since it entails a number of things, including the need for us to develop a steady flow of spirituality. Some of us are way too busy for this type of interaction with our beings. Nonetheless, there isn’t anything this powerful combination of mind, body, and soul—with which we are beautifully endowed—cannot achieve.

If there is one simple thing we can do towards becoming one with our self, we should remember that despite the daily chaos which subsists in our outer being—in the world—we must constantly strive to not let it upset our equilibrium nor disturb the very piece inside of us. We should not let anything divide us from our self. And it must not be misunderstood that the achievement of symmetry of the outer and inner self makes one perfect. Rather, it offers a place of solitude, in that, when the burdens of the external sphere become overwhelming you can choose to retreat into yourself and be able to tap into whatever inner peace you might have created from the process of self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-love. 

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