The Illusionary Labyrinth of Prejudice

In my last entry (Life, Death, Reincarnation and Karma), I attempted to provide an initial primer of understanding to help frame ongoing discussions that I would like to have on subjects pertaining to spirituality and social consciousness. In order to do this however, I feel that it is essential that we move our collective consciousness and perspective to a higher level, separate and apart from the current conventional status-quo thinking that has plagued humanity for so long. It is extremely important to me that the level of discourse in our ongoing dialogues and discussions evolve to a place that transcends physical illusion. I use the word illusion purposely because it is my hope, desire, and passion that these dialogues serve to help raise the level of awareness beyond the limits of physical perception and move ongoing discussions related to social norms and challenges to a more highly evolved state, where our perspectives allow us to see the outer illusion around us and embrace the inner reality that is us.

In order to do this, the veils of illusion must be challenged and eventually lifted, and we must collectively begin to see life not from the perspective of physical reality and identity but from the perspective of our true identity; Soul. Within the construct of reincarnation as I had stated in my last installment, one begins to realize that we have been many things at many different times throughout our spiritual journey. The unspoken inference in all of this is that each of us has, within our own collective reincarnational experiences, been a man, woman, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Hindu, Buddhist, killer, priest, grifter, thief, King, Queen, Prince, pauper, gay, straight, etc., etc., etc. The only constant identity that we have consistently maintained throughout this experiential labyrinth is that of Soul; that spark of God awareness that is all of us.

Now this may be a hard pill for some to swallow, but the truth of the matter is, in order to develop into a balanced and evolved state of being, one must go through a myriad of experiences that serve to balance ones overall perspective, understanding and appreciation for life and existence. In the course of this process, we make…decisions (some may call them mistakes but I am placing no value judgments on actions and choices here). These choices have consequences; some perceived good, some perceived bad. But the operative question in both cases is…did you learn? If not, then you simply keep banging your head over and over again, from incarnation to incarnation until you figure it out. There’s no time limit here because time is an illusion also (we’ll save that for a later discussion). We move from one incarnation to the next, often with minimal or no recollection of the time before, but with an innate sense of identity and understanding garnered from past experience. What’s important to understand here is that you ARE the sum total of your experiences. Though we may not remember the details of these experiences we keep the essence of the life lessons. After getting burned enough times, we begin to realize that certain actions create certain consequences that are not necessarily to our liking, hence we no longer do them. Our ongoing lessons and directions for growth are directly tied into two very fundamental and important questions; do you like pain, and what do you fear? Most people tend to avoid pain, and through our journey of enlightenment we begin to gain proficiency on how best to navigate around it. As for fear, whatever it is that you are currently afraid of will ultimately serve as the basis for your next lesson. One thing about this process of growth is that it is never ending; there will always be something more to learn. This is a good thing because as Soul, we live in eternity. We need to have something to do.

As I’m sure we all understand, existence and expansion of awareness is not achieved in a vacuum. Our growth is directly tied into our interactions with one another and our environment. Throughout this collective process we begin to form identities and alliances based on like-minded sentiments, consciousness, ethnic similarity, cultures and beliefs. These comfort zones of identity begin to form groups, families, clans, tribes, religions, kingdoms, nations, and so on. Our external identities are usually based on these groupings, and because the veil of past life experience has been placed over us, we lose sight of the bigger picture of who we are. This is by design. These groupings tend to do something else; they tend to create a false sense of fear and distrust of those who are not like us. It is from this dynamic that prejudice is born.

My goal in this writing and future discourse is to shift this myopic viewpoint from your identity as (_________ fill in the blank) to that of Soul first, and other groupings second. Coming to terms with one’s reincarnational past is very humbling, because we begin to understand that we have been the wretch and scourge of life at one time or another, but eventually have evolved into something much better by virtue of our experiences and growth. Maya Angelou has a beautiful saying to this affect, “We did then what we knew how to do, and now that we know better, we can do better.” This captures the essence of the journey. Once we begin to understand that we have been all things at one time or another, the vice grip of physical identity begins to slip and take on less significance. As for me, I am Soul first, human second, man third, race and ethnicity fourth, and the list goes on from there. These other identities I hold to are for social expedience, but in my heart, mind and spirit I know that I am first and foremost Soul; a child of God. Soul transcends all else. Everyone and everything is a part of me.

When the notion that we have been here many times before and have taken on many varied roles begin to sink in, the potential scenarios become infinite. When one also takes into account the link between reincarnation and karma, all sorts of interesting variables and possibilities come to past. You see, karmic balance is not limited to the individual, but also impacts groups, races, nations, etc. Our roles may change, but the overriding balance of actions and consequences; cause and effect still need to occur both on an individual as well as group level. Ponder these hypotheticals for a moment; perhaps you were a white slave owner in a past life, and treated your slaves with cruelty and disdain. Now in your next incarnation, for the sake of karmic balance you become a black person living in poverty, being constantly oppressed by “the man”; or perhaps you were that slave in a past life, now you are a white person living in luxury but find yourself responsible for the care and well being of others around you; perhaps you were a malevolent King or Queen or military ruler who valued no life but your own, and by your dictates thousands of people were sent to slaughter. Now you are in a position where you are the victim of such slaughter at the hands of another equally as bad. You begin to get the picture. This type of contemplation may tend to stir great emotion, and I’m not trying to offend anyone here because I know the volatility that such hypotheticals can cause. I’m only trying to get you to see beyond the emotional impact of these physical scenarios and look behind the curtain to what else may be going on. I neither condone nor praise, I merely point out that this is how the process tends to unfold – and the hits just keep on coming. From this understanding we begin to see that no one is better than anyone else; the only differences are by virtue of where you are in your growth and state of consciousness. How much you now remember of what you innately already know.

There’s a Hindu saying that goes, “Death is but a turning of the endless wheel of life.” Throughout this life, death and rebirth journey we make mistakes, perpetrate horrible evils, die horrible deaths, but we also live, grow and prosper. You might consider it to some degree an ongoing stage play where we are the actors fulfilling our assigned roles. Between incarnations we are temporarily off the stage because we are living in full awareness of what we are. When we are born again into the physical the veil is again placed over us and our memories become compartmentalized.

In this overall process we begin to learn from our mistakes and eventually gain a level of awareness that allows us to become conscious channels for God’s love. Each one, teach one; pass it forward. This is information we already have but have simply forgotten. None of us are learning anything; we are merely remembering what we already know. Through the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth, we eventually become conscious co-workers with All That Is. In the course of this journey, we remember that we are more than the sum of our experiences; we are Soul. It’s time to awaken to this fact NOW and begin to interact with one another from the lens of an awakened Soul, from the realization that we are connected, that we are a part of one thing. When we do this, then we start to realize the sheer idiocy of prejudice and the importance of loving one another equally as Soul (we simply happen to be inhabiting a body). Only then will we rise up and become an evolved part of this incredible and majestic intergalactic multiverse. The choice is yours.

Life, Death, Reincarnation, and Karma

The actress Mae West was noted for saying among other things “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough”. While this sentiment has served us for some time, the fundamental premise of this saying is in my opinion based on a false assumption; that we only live once. The truth, which is baring itself out empirically, is that we have lived many times before.

One cannot fault statements like this with those who have made them, because such sentiments have been perpetrated and perpetuated on our mass consciousness for centuries. This was primarily motivated by the desire to force the collective consciousness into a feeling that we must comply with certain dogmatic beliefs and constructs in this life … "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27). Ironically, reincarnation used to be an original cornerstone belief in Christianity, but was later taken out after it became apparent that its followers felt they could simply put off finding absolution in this life and do it in the next life.

This initial acceptance and understanding of reincarnation, though controversial even then, was spawned during the 1st through the 6th century A.D. by the writings of a great Christian theologian named Origen of Alexandria[1]. During his time as a spiritual teacher, Origen was highly regarded for his insights and had a strong and devoted following. After his death around 250 A.D., his beliefs continued to generate controversy for reasons mentioned earlier, and over the next few centuries a number of anti-Origen doctrines grew and developed, eventually forcing a shift in the belief of reincarnation as heretical and antithetical to the Christian faith.

Unlike Christianity though, approximately 20% of our world religious population practice either Buddhism or Hinduism, both of whom believe in reincarnation. In a poll conducted by Fox News[2], 25% of Americans believe in reincarnation, with a steady increase in the acceptance of reincarnation taking place in the U.S., Europe and around the world. More and more people are accepting this phenomenon as fact, and more and more people are beginning to awaken to introspective revelations of themselves that have no logical or experiential origins in this life. The veils are being lifted, and this in my opinion is no accident. We are beginning to re-discover our origins, one incarnation at a time.

Evidence to support these assertions are showing up with greater frequency through empirical research and investigative confirmations by many whom have been able to validate past experiences of places they never knew of or have ever visited in their current life. Some of the more impressive scientific insights into this understanding came from the late Dr. Ian Stevenson[3], who was the former head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He later became the Director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at UVA and spent over 40 years of his life documenting more than 3,000 cases of children from all over the world. These case studies have quieted the most ardent of skeptics. His two books, Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (published 1974) and Reincarnation and Biology (published 1997) have gained critical acclaim by scholars and skeptics alike for its probing insights and factual conclusions about reincarnation.

According to research conducted by Dr. Stevenson, one of the greatest commonalities associated with past life recollection is when young children, usually between the ages of 2 to 4, begin to talk about memories of places and things that occurred before they were born. These memories begin to fade as the child grows older, usually between 4 and 7 years of age, but sometimes linger beyond this period. For any parents reading this who have small children, it creates an intriguing notion and perhaps you should pay closer attention to what your children say and are stimulated by; they may be recounting past experiences prior to entering the world in this lifetime.

For me personally, I realize now through my own internal epiphanies that I have been here many times before; that I and my family members have shared countless incarnational experiences playing different roles at different times in our collective history; that I may change from one body to another, but that the true essence of who and what I am will forever be. I also know that there is a direct correlation between my incarnational experiences and the universal laws of cause and effect, otherwise known as karma.

Karma can best be described from the scientific premise that for every action, there is an opposite but equal reaction. Also, statements like “What goes around comes around” are very apt descriptions of this phenomenon. This cause and effect relationship does not work on a defined time schedule and will only serve to balance itself when it deems conditions suitable. I only make this observation because most of us in the course of our daily activity fail to sometimes see the cause and effect correlation between our actions and their outcomes, most often due to a perceived lag time between the two events. As a person grows spiritually, however, there tends to become a greater awareness and discernment of this karmic balance as it impacts our lives. Some people wrongly believe that this force is a punitive one, but the truth is that it is simply a law of balance, having no basis in good or bad; good or evil. It is simply the catalyst that we are all bound by to create experience and eventually spiritual growth. It is not the punisher of sin through God’s wrath as some may believe, but merely a divine mechanism by which we are able to identify the cause and effect relationships between our thoughts, actions and deeds. There is no escaping this dynamic (other than keeping one’s attention on God), and the sooner one comes to terms with this reality, the sooner one can begin to live his/her life in balanced alignment with love and Spirit.

Now the correlation between reincarnation and karma is an interesting one. The truth is that karma serves as the grist for the mill of life, death and rebirth; determining what experiences we will need to have in the next life based in large measure on the deeds of the last one. There is a very intriguing series of books by Dr. Michael Newton, a certified hypnotherapist, entitled Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls that document case studies of people who have undergone past life regression through hypnosis. It is compelling because it describes what occurs during the mid-point between one life and the next; life between lives as it were. It is extremely detailed in its descriptions and sections of the book talk about the period of “judgment” where things are assessed in the last life and decisions are made on how best to balance out the unresolved actions from that life into the next one. What is important to note in these descriptions is the fact that the exercise is not a punitive one, but merely an accounting of what a particular soul learned and what “it” still needs to work on. These areas of improvement are then placed in the potentiality of the next life. These potentialities are simply that, potential outcomes and not certainties, because throughout all of these opportunities for growth we still have free will. But as the old adage goes, “You can pay me now or pay me later.” Eventually, the balancing of past deeds must come to bare and one must have the courage to go through what they need to in order to fulfill this reciprocity, and hopefully learn and grow from the experience. It is neither good nor bad; it is only decision and outcome.

When we combine the two aspects of reincarnation and karma together, we come into a very useful and universal understanding of what life is all about, and what our place is in the hierarchy of All That Is. It is essential to remember in all of this that we are a spark of the divine, and it is through our actions, journeys, milestones, trials and tribulations that we and the divine gain experience and grow. Our microcosmic expansion helps the macrocosm, because as I have said multiple times and will continue to repeat over and over again, we are one. Through this microcosmic experience and growth, the whole benefits, for there is no existence outside of All That Is. How else does it expand except through our expansion? When we grow, everyone grows, for we are all connected, we are all one.



References:
[1] http://reluctant-messenger.com/origen1.html
[2] http://www.reincarnation.ws/
[3] http://www.near-death.com/experiences/reincarnation01.html

Blades of Grass

When I was a young boy, around 6 or 7, I used to play with my neighborhood friends, getting into mischief like most kids my age. We’d play ball and ride our bikes and play cowboys and Indians and war and such. I would hear a buddy call from a distance and immediately know who it was, then we’d go out and discover a new adventure for that day. Life was fun and enjoyable, as it should be for a kid. But something was missing; something that I didn’t even realize until I saw it for the first time with my own eyes.

My Dad, when he wasn’t working in his Dental practice, would sometimes take me to Parker Field in Richmond, VA. to cheer on our beloved farm baseball team, the Richmond Braves. During one game in particular, my Dad noticed that every time a batter would hit a high fly ball, I would complain to him “…where’d the ball go?” Red flag! He immediately scheduled me for an appointment at the eye doctor. After a few fascinating vision tests, eye drops and frame adjustments, I finally had my first pair of prescription glasses. What I was about to experience in my initial ride home would literally “opened my eyes” not only to what I saw, but to the process of discovery itself in ways that to this day still impact me. For the first time in my life, I realized that the green outdoor carpet that I would play on every day were actually individual blades of grass; they were tiny, separate blades of grass! The green fuzzy blobs in the trees were actually individual leaves! I could see my friend a block away and know who it was before he even called out to me. The clarity of my vision opened my mind up to things I had no idea existed; and of the things I did know about, the nuanced level of detail was a life altering experience for me. I was simply astonished; amazed that I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Things like tiny insects on the ground moving about in perfect symmetry within the hierarchy of life; grains of sand in a sand box; how waves would break into individual droplets of water and merge back into a central mass; the twinkling stars in the sky. All of the things that I never noticed before came flooding into my being like a tsunami. I was forever changed.

These memories have served me well over the years, and in many ways have prepared me for the spiritual journey I now undertake, leading me to this unique period in my life. The parallel of this with my own personal spiritual growth has been an amazing dichotomy, filled with epiphanies and discoveries that I continue to marvel at and feel humble gratitude for. Most important has been the realization that I am more than the sum of my parts; that I am more than this physical body that I occupy. I have now come to realize that I am Soul, a divine spark of God awareness. I realize that I am eternal, that the spirit of my beingness will never die; that my body may cease to exist, but that the true essence of who and what I am will forever be. I know these things through direct perceptional experience, through spiritual introspection and validation both internally and externally. When you know, you know. I don’t expect naysayers to believe these assertions outright, and I really don’t care -- I know.

The thing is that these insights and spiritual realizations are not in any way unique to me, but part of a much larger collective metamorphosis of expanded awareness and discovery taking place throughout our world today. It’s happening everywhere, all around us. Have you noticed that things have begun to speed up; that orthodox thinking is being challenged and replaced with direct perceptional experience? Trust in our inner barometer is showing itself to be a reliable measure for the world around us, when we give it a chance. It’s happening everywhere, and the Awaken to One Alliance is being created to serve as a catalyst, central repository and meeting place for this explosion of spiritual awakening. We meet you where you are, and are in no way interested in changing you into anything other than what you want to be. This is not a religion or spiritual path, this is a community awakened.

It is important to emphasize here that this organization is not intended to be a top-down hierarchical entity that simply espouses some dogmatic truth and/or inspiration from on high, but an interactive and communal place of sharing and discovery with like-minded individuals (yes, and even naysayers) who are becoming aware within their own life journey. We are an awakening spiritual community, coming from all walks of life and spiritual disciplines, ready and willing to share unique perspectives and dialogue with one another in the hopes that this dialogue will help the collective evolve into a nuanced understanding of universal truth. It is a place for truth seekers, not gate keepers.

Throughout the course of my life I have been consciously inquisitive as to the nature and meaning of things that for most people were satisfactory at face value. I wanted to know more. As an alter boy in the Episcopal Church I would attempt to ascertain the true meaning behind the choreographed dance of the ceremony that I would take part in every Sunday. What did the call and response mantra between the parishioners and the Pastor really mean? Who was God? Did “He” only occupy this church? Why was there so much injustice in the world and why did life seem to be so unfair? When I looked into the mirror for more than a few seconds, what was that thing looking back at me? Who was I, why was I here, and what was my purpose in this life? All of these questions used to perplex me and serve as the catalyst for a long and unfolding journey of truth and enlightenment that I and so many like me have sought and are seeking. Through many religious and spiritual paths that I experimented with, each transition being somewhat painful but necessary for my unique evolution, I finally came to the realization that my path to God had led me to a very personal place; one that caused me to realize that I am now my own path. I have begun to understand that everyone will ultimately come into a similar realization that all paths lead to an awareness of oneness, and that we eventually have to take those final steps alone. I know that these words may seem very alarming to some, as it was initially to me. It can seem a lonely place when you begin to walk the line alone and without a net. But you ultimately begin to realize that this feeling of aloneness is merely an illusion, for you are never alone. You are a spark of God; you are God, individuated and gaining personal experience. You come to realize that the road to understanding the Creator begins with an understanding of yourself, for you are a microcosm of the macrocosm. You begin to understand that you must be the catalyst for change, because the Creator cannot do for you what it can only do through you. If not you, who? If not now, when?

This organization, Awaken to One Alliance, serves as a call to action that we must be the change we seek. It is our life destiny and purpose to come into a conscious awareness of who and what we are; that we are Soul, that we are one. Through this awakening comes the need to assist others in coming into their own awareness, consistent with their ability and desire to do so. Like so many others, my light bulb came on. It’s time for you now to turn the light on.

Upon seeing those individual blades of grass for the first time, my glasses served as an awakening of sorts, to the nuanced beauty of the world around me, and the excitement of discovering that world. It was this first experience that introduced me to an awakening of things beyond my initial perceptions. It was the process of discovery as much as it was the discovery itself that forever impacted the way I viewed life. Now, with ready awareness and conscious intent, I welcome you to what for many may be the first step in the final journey of your spiritual lives, an awakening to the oneness of yourself as a conscious spark of All That Is. Hang on, I know it’s going to be an incredible ride.

Hope Rings

It’s extremely poignant to me that the launch of the Awaken to One Alliance comes after such an amazing and incredible milestone in our world history; the inauguration of our first African-American President, Barack Obama. The magnitude of this moment is nothing short of transcendent. I, like so many others, were riveted to the television on that cool November night as the election results slowly began to tabulate in. As everyone held their collective breath and the number 285 appeared on the screen (270 electoral votes needed to win), the pandemonium around me and throughout the nation and the world was immediate. A change had finally come; a shift from a pervasive feeling of fear and helplessness to the possibility of hope began to find its way into the consciousness of the masses who dared to dream or simply could not imagine that such a moment would finally arrive. As the waves of realization began to hit me, I was suddenly overcome with emotion, tears streaming down my face. I didn’t care. I thought about my mother, father and sister; I wish they could be here to witness this. When the shock of what just happened was slowly replaced with quiet euphoric absolution, I suddenly found myself (like so many around me) beginning to walk a little taller and straighter; my head held a little higher. “Yes we can.” Yes we did! As Oprah Winfrey so eloquently put it, “Hope won.”

Now, on the wave of this awe-inspiring tsunami of hope, the Awaken to One Alliance makes its humble debut. Our goal is to provide continual rays of hope and insight to all that come to know us, join us and ally themselves with us on this most important mission. The task is to continue the wave of love and hope generated by this and other momentous shifts in consciousness and create new waves of love and awareness about who and what you are and your importance to the world and to the universe. This wave will not rest until it eventually touches everyone. But it’s not about A to 1. We are merely a catalyst for this shift to occur.

It is worth noting here that my own personal enthusiasm at the results of this most recent election is in no way an indication or endorsement of any partisan leaning or political preference by this new organization. The Awaken to One Alliance does not and will not ever use our energy or organizational influence as a platform for any political agenda. My enthusiasm is exclusively my own and I am merely struck by the powerful timing of such a beginning; falling in alignment with this important milestone in history, and how this milestone is representative of so much hope for so many. For those of you reading this whose candidate did not win, or are cynical and disbelieving about the prospect of a new beginning as a result, I say to you with deep affection and sincerity that we will all be looking at the next four years with a critical eye, but now is the time that we must make an effort to set aside our differences and come together as a people to embrace the concept and possibilities of hope. Change begins with us, not outside of us.

It is important to understand that hope is directly proportional to one’s belief in this feeling and this energy. Hope creates possibilities; hope dares us to dream. You see, the truth is that we create our own reality and our own destiny. What happens to each and every one of us is not an outside/in flow of energy or circumstance that we so often perceive as creating a victim mentality, but an inside/out flow of energy that creates our own personal universe and circumstance. It starts with us – you and me. We create our own reality. Just like the stock market is an emotionally based economic engine that ebbs and flows within the parameters of confidence and fear, so too is the energy that surrounds the possibilities that exist in our perceived future. We can no longer afford to be effect in our life, we must now dare to be conscious cause.

It must be understood and remembered that everything begins as a thought. The food you eat, the clothes you wear, the car you drive, the mate that you’re with, the house that you live in, all these things first began as a thought; a seed idea that went out and brought back to you like energy in the form of possibility, opportunity and circumstance. You possess this power; we all do. The difference is that some are more aware of this than others. With this awareness of God-given energy, comes opportunity and responsibility. It is important that our actions are for the good of the whole, and not merely the few.

Barack Obama emphasized in his eloquent and sobering inaugural speech the importance of self responsibility in the things that we need to do to make our circumstances better moving forward. Government and a President can only do so much. It is up to all of us to do our part. With this as our aspiration both from a nationalistic perspective as well as a spiritual one, we should consider this a call to action for change; not just of social circumstances but of inner awareness of our own magnificence and worth. You are worthy, and it is now time to claim that worth and create the things you want in your life. It begins with belief in yourself and that you are never alone. It flows from a daily understanding that we are one with a divine source, and that source is a loving source, designed to provide for us whatever we want. We only need ask for it and do the things that will bring us in alignment with it. It comes from a conscious recognition that our actions are not generated in a vacuum, but have an impact on those around us; on the good of the whole. Now is where it begins, here is where it takes place. Awaken to the oneness that is all of us. Be kind to one another, even if there is disagreement between you. It is all a part of the whole.

Together we can ride this wave of hope onto the shores of love and abundance, and make this world and our universe a place that we once only dared dream of. It is all in our grasp, we need only claim it.

A Toe In the Water

Hello All -

My name is Darrell and I am starting what I hope will be a continual and growing dialogue on spirituality from a social consciousness perspective. I'll be touching on a range of topics from general world views on spirituality to intimate insights and revelations on our current times and the intuitive awareness taking place by so many these days of a growing temporal shift in consciousness. Things are changing, many are feeling this shift, but don't know why or what it means. We'll be examining the ongoing struggles and challenges facing our world today, and discuss ways to counter-balance the fear and negativity facing so many in these uncertain times. No subjects are off limits, but all subjects will be pursued from a spiritual point of view. In truth, everything is spiritual; there is nothing that is not spiritual, and it is only a matter of viewing all life from this introspective prism that we begin to gain a better understanding of what life is trying to tell us.

I feel it important to mention here that I come at this dialogue having no religious affiliations or pre-judgement of anyone's religious or spiritual beliefs or frames of reference. I sit in judgement of no one and I hope the same courtesy is given to me. My discussions will not be focused on religion or any dogmatic mindset whatsoever. It will, however, be spiritually based. There is a distinct difference between religion and spirituality, and it is from this spiritual mindset that I welcome any and all participants. There's a lot to talk about. I have a lot to share, but I also welcome the opportunity to learn from others as well. This is a toe in the water and an open invitation to begin a dialogue that I hope will help people in need of answers to many nagging questions in their life. Together, as a new spiritual community, we can help one another gain a better understanding of ourselves and our purpose in life. In truth, we are all connected; we are all one. We come from the same spiritual stuff. The problem is, many of us have forgotten this divine place that we've come from. Within the "illusion" of separateness, we have divided ourselves into many factions; many groups; many tribes; all thinking we are different somehow but are in fact the same. Let's make a change. Let's awaken to the oneness that is all of us. I hope you will join me in this dialogue, and I look forward to meeting and getting to know my fellow brothers and sisters on this journey and dialogue of spiritual awareness. I look forward to meeting all of you.