The Science of Oneness

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

—William Blake

The rational mind is hard-pressed to grasp the notion that solid matter is mostly scintillating light dancing in empty space. Mystics, such as William Blake, have written and spoken for millennia about their vision of the unity of all things. For mystics, this understanding comes from their direct experience. Such experiences have an ineffable quality. Words to describe it fall short of the full impact it has on them, such that their descriptions tend toward the poetic and lyrical. This makes sense, as in that moment of awakening, the mystic knows him or herself as inseparable from that same light-filled radiance. Mystics experience their oneness with all that is, a different reality than our usual state of being.

The familiar distinctions we’ve made between science and mysticism are blurring as quantum physics proves to be true concepts that were previously relegated to mystical realms alone.

In his book The Divine Matrix, Gregg Braden speaks of our ongoing conversation with the universe. “In this dialogue, our deepest beliefs become the blueprint for everything that we experience.” With scientific research in hand, he suggests that our very assumptions and beliefs determine how the external world shows up in our lives. It isn’t coincidental—it is a perfect reflection of who we are. The determination that we are not separate from what appears to be external reality takes an unexpected turn when he goes on to propose that, “our conversation with the world is constant and never ending. Because it doesn’t stop, it’s impossible for us to ever be passive observers on the sidelines of life … if we’re conscious, by definition we’re creating.”

We can use science and the rational mind to help us grapple with the idea of our interconnectedness with the universe, our oneness. Quantum physics is leading the way to confirming much of what mystics have described over eons—that we are not separate from external reality. The big takeaway is that we can consciously apply our will, as intention, to ourselves and our circumstances to directly affect our experiences. When we do so, the power of our own creativity becomes apparent. This “new” way of seeing reality is key to comprehending our connectedness with one another and the world around us. To perceive our interconnectedness naturally infuses us with the sense of belonging in the world. Care and consideration for one another follow when we know that we belong. It is belonging that inspires us to work together and, thereby, to more expediently remedy the varied crises looming before us, from ecological to socio-political.

We all can have a direct experience of our interconnectedness and creative potential through the exploration described below (modified for this article). A new, more user-friendly reality is available to us when we comprehend how science explains the dovetailing of matter, energy, and consciousness.

Intentionality and the Zero Point Field

When we have a clear understanding of our personal values, meaning the qualities of life that motivate us to believe what we do and take the actions we take, then we can generate them intentionally. The reason for doing so is to implement conscious choice about what we experience. To consciously apply your will, as intention, has a demonstrable effect on what you experience. This idea is founded in the fact that we are not separate from the vast expanse of the universe itself. Cutting edge physicists call it the zero point field, or simply, the field. The field is a sea of energy from which quantum particles both emerge and submerge in a continuous energy exchange. It is this perpetual exchange of energies that holds the universe in dynamic equilibrium, or the relative stability that we enjoy within the flux of life.

We live immersed in and are integral with a unified field that is mediated by waves of information. When quantum physicists include the existence of the zero point field in their calculations, they find that, in fact, everything is comprised of energy in the form of waves. Matter, as we think of it, does not exist. It is the condensed spheres of vibrating light held in the relative stability afforded by the zero point field that creates the illusion of solid matter.

Understanding these recent scientific discoveries is liberating. It offers solid ground for utilizing our potential and aids in transcending archaic beliefs no longer relevant. The inquiring, rational mind must necessarily include a much broader perspective of reality as the inner workings of quantum physics opens our senses to who we really are and what we are capable of. Please stay with me a bit further on this fascinating investigation into the field of possibility.

Waves have the distinguished ability to encode and carry information, as well as having what amounts to an infinite capacity to store information. Therefore, “If all subatomic matter in the world is interacting constantly with this ambient ground-state energy field, the subatomic waves of the field are constantly imprinting a record of the shape of everything. As the harbinger and imprinter of all wavelengths and all frequencies, the Zero Point Field is a kind of shadow of the universe for all time, a mirror image and record of everything that ever was.”

This viewpoint could explain the mystical experience of “universal oneness.” It affirms that, due to the zero point field waves, we are actually connected with all matter throughout the immensity of the whole universe, on into infinity. However, this so-called matter is actually waves of information. When encoded waves bump into each other, interference occurs. In this process, the waves share information, and thus, all the information in the universe accumulates in the waves of the zero point field. McTaggart writes, “The Zero Point Field had imprinted everything that ever happened in the world through wave interference encoding.” Encoded waves of information vibrate and eventually congeal in patterns of energy fields, into what we call matter.

Physicists surmise that the zero point field may also function as a “non-biochemical memory of the universe.” The zero point field appears to act like complex networks of connected information in an eternal now. As we are inseparable from it, the implication is that we could tap into this grand web of accumulated information. It suggests as well that we could influence the wave fluctuations around us by intentionally applying our consciousness to our life. Intuitively and through personal experience, I have found this to be true. This explains how conscious intentions, as well as unconscious expectations—all encoded waves of information—can affect our internal states of being, as well as our external reality. Everything is connected and continually exchanging information in the form of waves.

The implications of this all-pervasive sea of encoded waves can be taken a step further. I suggest that the field holds and expresses universal consciousness itself. As part of the unified field, we are always tapped into and exchanging information on myriads of fronts, with or without our awareness of doing so. Our human consciousness is part and parcel to universal consciousness. We simply need to apply our will, or conscious intention, to create our preferred results. Now let’s drop out of our heads and into our hearts and put the science of oneness to practical use.

The Heart and Universal Qualities of Life

As you experiment with the exploration described below, you will have the opportunity to experience your interdependence with the universe. The focus takes you deeper inside and taps into your heart as the intermediary between your personal consciousness and the all-pervasive universal consciousness. The benefits of the inward journey are more accessible when we align ourselves with the intelligence of the heart, as researchers have discovered. “New research shows the human heart is much more than an efficient pump that sustains life. Our research suggests the heart also is an access point to a source of wisdom and intelligence that we can call upon to live our lives with more balance, greater creativity and enhanced intuitive capacities. All of these are important for increasing personal effectiveness, improving health and relationships and achieving greater fulfillment.”

We are coevolving a fundamental paradigmatic shift from the dualism of right-wrong thinking to awareness of ourselves within a unified field of existence. This is accomplished by descending into ourselves and connecting with our heart’s natural tendency toward coherence.

We can access the state of coherency by intentionally embodying a specific quality of life that resonates meaningfully with us. The exploration below details how to do this. As explained, each quality is a particular attribute of life that we resonate with and that we can generate at will. This proffers the experience of connection not only with ourselves but also with the surrounding field that encompasses us. Through intentional embodiment of a given quality of life, we can have the experience of interconnection with the field and with people in the field. In an embodied, coherent state we can discern the distinctions between us, but we no longer experience them as separating us from each other. We know ourselves as integral to the great web of life, along with everyone else.

In this exploration, we focus on the experience we desire and use that to usher in a coherent state of being. We name it as a particular quality of life. Universal qualities of life are the underpinnings, oftentimes subconscious, of what motivates us to do, to think, and to choose as we do. They indicate the qualities of being human that we are drawn to and want to express. We commonly refer to them as our values. In the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) lexicon, values are referred to as universal human needs. The concept of universally shared human needs is very practical. It is a tool for naming the commonalities within our diversity. It is a tangible way to understand one another better and thus, is instrumental to resolving conflict. Universal human needs facilitate connection by highlighting our shared humanity. When we see others as human, like us, it is well-nigh impossible to do violence to them. Instead, we tend to care about them because we know they are another me.

I use the term universal qualities of life in place of the NVC term, universal human needs. Many people react to the idea of having a need or of needing something from others, relating it to being needy. And the thought of meeting a need tends to take our attention outside of ourselves, whereas I encourage us to reverse our habitual focus by bringing our attention inside. The power inherent in self-connection and self-awareness is very internal. What we long for gets much clearer and more accessible when we can name the qualities of life that motivate and matter to us.

Any life-serving experience we desire can be named by a universal quality of life, once we identify it as such. These qualities are universally applicable because, by stepping back, we can see that anyone might want such an experience. It is not yours or mine alone in its desirability—it is common to most everyone. The particular way in which we choose to fulfill it, however, is specific to time, place, and person. The way we accomplish it is the strategy for fulfilling that experience and expressing the quality of life we’re after. This significant distinction provides great freedom of choice and myriads of possible options for achieving the experiences we want. We shift from scarcity to abundance when the options for gratifying our desires are so readily multiplied.

A simple way to find out what you most value and long to experience is to get out paper and pen and write down whatever comes to mind in answer to this question: If everything in your life was exactly as you would most love it to be, what words would describe that state of being?

Sit quietly for a few minutes and jot down whatever comes to mind. For the purpose of this exercise, set aside your concerns about how you can achieve the experiences you want. Strategies can come later. For now, your task is to name the experience itself that you want, rather than the form the experience will take. To answer the question, catapult yourself past the strategy, or how it will happen, to the end result and name your state of being when you experience it.

Practice embodying a specific quality of life at any moment to support your experience of living in the state of being you long for. To do so, use your breath to fill yourself up from the inside out with the living energetic of that quality of life. Choose one from your list, for example, connection, kindness, peace, beauty, understanding, fun, inspiration, and so on. At first, it may help to call up a memory in which you experienced your specific, desired quality fully. You can feel the energetics of that living quality inside you by putting yourself back in the former scene. With practice, you’ll be able to embody your chosen, coherent state of being in real time. This skill greatly supports your presence while serving personal empowerment, clarity, and compassion through deep self-connection.

Coherence and the Spectrum of Love

As I picture it, love is the grand, overarching quality of life that encompasses all the rest. Light can be used as a metaphor to help explain it. If we equate love to daylight, for example, then refracted light, like a rainbow, represents the spectrum of love. The rainbow is the palette of qualities of life nestled within the pure white light that is love. We bring forth the colors of love when we embody a particular quality of life in a given moment. We shine with that particular energetic that is a specific quality or aspect of love. At the same time, we have engendered a coherent state of being. Coherence is a cohesive energetic pattern that interpenetrates us and the world around us. As we embody coherent states of being, we are categorically choosing our experience in that moment. We are being the change we seek in the world. At the same time, we are weaving the energetics of that state into the field around us.

Our intentions, applied consciously, necessarily reap results due to the fact of our invisible connections with all-that-is. With embodiment and greater self-connection, kindness and compassion are more available to inform our choices. Consequently, we take to heart how our actions will affect other people. Accountability for how we affect others becomes integral to our decisions at every turn—in our personal and business relationships and in how we develop our social institutions. Over time, persistently embodied states create a resonant field within and around us. The more of us who embody coherent states of being consistently, the easier it will be for others to tap into and exist in those states too.

The coherent wave pattern we invite into being while embodying a quality of life interacts with the surrounding field. The field responds by expressing the energetics of that quality through and around us. This can have a profound effect on your interactions by inviting insights, creativity, and even energetic alignment with others. It also has a positive effect globally, increasing global harmony and coherence, as we are intricately connected with the Earth’s electro-magnetic energies, as well.