Besieged as we are, little wonder that men and women alternate between the dream of a place apart, untouched by the world, and then wanting to be wanted again in that aloneness. Besieged or left alone, we seem to live best at the crossroad between irretrievable aloneness and irretrievable belonging, and even better, as a conversation between the two where no choice is available. We are both: other people will never go away, and aloneness is both possible and necessary.
*David Whyte. "Besieged." In Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. Rev. Ed.
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I wrote a text message to a new friend and colleague. I did not know her well, so I did not know how she would receive the odd dispatch - "Hi Thou from Thou." She welcomed it with understanding, and so began some friendly dialogue.
"Thou," "Thee," "Thy," and "Thine," used first before the 12th Century, arose from Greek and Hebrew pronouns referring to the One in exclusion of all others. Alluding to "God," the English for these references signifies respect, reverence, awe, and recognition of the holiness, or totally otherness, of "God." These connotations are why one of my religion professors in college continued using these pronouns when referring to "God," even though that use was not in vogue anymore among a growing number of Christians and Bible translations.
But what of "Thou" in addressing my colleague and friend? Well, I did it somewhat jocular and somewhat not jocular. I was being humorous - I hoped - while knowing it was natural for me to recognize and respect her as an expression of the Totally Otherness that made our sharing potentially a holy communion, not merely a relational interaction.
Grace lifts commonness to the category of Otherness, not as separation but as Sacredness, Mystery, Oneness.
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Thouness expresses Itself in communion, and this communion entails distinction. Thou meets Thou, Thou celebrates Thou. Thou differentiates to experience Itself in the otherness and return the otherness into the Oneness before Union, which implies two or more.
Some Christian thinkers have spoken of the One as the Godhead, the source of the Trinity - Godhead being Oneness without any diversification, any diversity. Alike, Mahayana Buddhists posit the Dharmakaya, or Truth Body, one of the three in the Buddha Bodies, as the "Buddha" beyond Buddha, beyond all Buddhas. And Hindus teach the Trinity of Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu is a triunity of expressions of one Being - Brahman.
So, yes, consciousness enjoys the play of sharing with others, human and non-human, seen and unseen. Oneness is not the negation of diversity, but the appreciation of and respect for diversity is enhanced when known through Oneness.
The play of Life, in all its forms, including birth and death, expresses Oneness and communion. The Gospel of John in the Christian Bible reads, "And the Word clothed itself with flesh," implying intuition of the I Am becoming I Am this and that. Hence, communion is not only external - with others - but within ourselves. We are an intersection, or blending, of varied expressions at different levels, from body to spirit, gross to subtle.
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When this and that awakens to the truth, to the seeing of, this mutual likeness, not mere identity, in Love, holy communion can consciously take place, even in the gladdened embrace of the differences among us. Love seems to enjoy differentiating. Life appears to like to assume form to play hide-and-seek with Itself and draw us back into the wholly communion transcending all that would negate togetherness as One.
We either say "Yes" or "No" to the flight into diversity. Our "Yes" means a surrender to be drawn back, or forward, through communion to the One that births the joy of our heartful sharing. The Solitary enters into being, even happening, among without losing touch with the solitude. Few humans can do this, but that is the Way - to be grounded in solitude, and the solitude enhancing our capacity to connect with others as embodied spirit - the body is the portal. Thus, solitude is not the same as privacy or isolation. Even alone, one can sense communion happening in alignment with solitude.
And profound connection occurs when the solitude of the other is respected and a like respect is given in return. Otherwise, much of what we call sharing is simply egoic aggression, even if of a subtle sort.
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Recognizing communion as Sacredness sharing with Sacredness, our lives are lifted to an experience and inspiration interacting as merely human interaction cannot provide for us. Much everyday interaction is personality with personality, not spirit with spirit. In communion, we see others and ourselves differently when arises this consciousness of being Love, or Love-Being. This Loving is a spontaneous manifestation of Thou and Thou, in which Oneness does not negate differentiation but celebrates it as the conscious living out of Itself to enjoy togetherness.
*Use of photography is allowed accompanied by credit given to Brian K. Wilcox and title and place of photographs.
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse.
