UNIVERSE WITHIN by Gwen Randall-Young

More than ever before, people seem to be searching for the way to “be” in this world. The power of the internet allows for large shifts in human consciousness, as millions of people are exposed to the same ideas and perspectives at the same time.

While the internet has certainly sped things up, groups of people subscribing to the same philosophy is not new. Have you noticed, though, that every couple of years a new path seems to enchant the masses? It seems a true shift in consciousness will occur. Within a couple of years or even months, however, that awareness seems to fade and something new comes along, with the hope that maybe this will be the answer.

Humans have been seeking for a long time and if there was an answer out there, we would have found it by now. It is the thinking mind that tries to figure it all out. The answers, however, are not “out there” and it is not the thinking mind that would lead us to them. The thinking mind rearranges ideas, which are the products of our own minds or the minds of others. It is basically our word processing program and it has limitations – the major one being language itself.

Think of the vastness of the universe and picture a tiny blue planet somewhere in the midst of it all. Humans have developed a way to communicate with each other and even speculate about things beyond our little world. Yet we no more possess the language to talk meaningfully about things “beyond the beyond” any more than ants can talk about the country they live in, much less the cosmos. Answers will not come from words, no matter how we rearrange them.

There is, however, another way of knowing. Because everything in our universe is connected, a part of us can tune in to all that is. It is a little like the oceans of the world. They are all connected. If we had the ability to “read” the energy in the water, we could dip our feet into the Pacific Ocean and “pick up” information from the Atlantic or the Indian Ocean.

The language of the universe is silence. An ocean of energy underlies everything. When we enter the silence, as in meditation, we can “tune in” to the larger frequencies. Energetically, we can “go” anywhere in the universe.

We are like drops of water that have separated out of the oneness to experience individuality. We developed our own separate ego selves to differentiate from the other drops. The problem arose when we identified with that ego self, thinking it was the real “us.” We forgot about the true essence. Ego is on a continuous quest to feel better, understand more, reduce suffering, be evolved, or to “get it.”

The truth is that what we yearn for is not answers or even understanding. It is connection. When we shed ego like a suit of clothing and go naked into the silent ocean, we merge back into the home from which we came. We experience our own soul – that drop of cosmic consciousness – that belongs to the whole. That is where we experience peace, contentment and even joy. When we re-enter the world, having tasted the sweetness of home, we realize nothing here need bother us. We see all the machinations of ego; how it creates dramas, polarities, unhappiness and stress and we can choose to no longer identify with that aspect of our being. When we cease to identify with it, it loses all power.

There is nothing to seek, nothing to find, no answers. It is all about where we choose to put our consciousness. Shall we let it energize ego and take us on a wild ride, or do we use it to maintain an open connection with the oneness and live our lives as our true soul selves?

Gwen Randall-Young is a psychotherapist in private practice and author of Growing Into Soul: The Next Step in Human Evolution. For articles and information about her books and “Deep Powerful Change” personal growth/hypnosis CDs, visit www.gwen.ca

Hear Gwen Randall-Young on Drishti Point, Vancouver’s yoga radio talk show (CFRO 102.7FM), Monday, August 11, 5-6 PM. www.drishtipoint.ca