Interconnectedness- Personal and Universal- What Does it Mean?

by nvrgnbk 35 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  nvrgnbk

  connectedness/oneness/wholeness is then realized to be the underlying reality of everything. Then "love thy neighbor as thyself" makes sense.

  Thanks poppers.
• 

  changeling

  To me it simply means that we all need each other. We have an effect on other people, animals, the planet, etc. by the things we do and say. So we need to be conscious that the effect we have is for good, to upbuild and not destroy.
• 

  Warlock

  It means if someone pulls the plug, or the power goes out, we are in DEEP DOO DOO.

  Warlock
• 

  John Doe

  Interconnectedness is a big part of Native American spirituality. It's the idea that nothing exists in isolation--everything is related and reliant upon everything else.

  I can't remember where I read this, but I recall reading that as we began to understand biological creatures, we realized that we can be broken down into cells, cells are part of tissues, tissues make up organs, organs make up organ systems, organs systems make up organisms. The we learn that individuals make up communities, communities make up societies, societies make up countries, countries make up nations, etc.

  Everything follows this pattern of parts working together as a whole. Soon we'll learn that, like cells, our planet is part of a larger organism. Our planet is part of a solar system. Our solar system is part of a galaxy. Our galaxy is part of a universe. Where does it end? The more we study, the larger the universal organism becomes.
• 

  diamondblue1974

  From a pagan perspective everything is connected; the land we live on, the people and other lifeforms we share it with and including the universe we live in - we are all aspects of divinity itself.

  G
• 

  AlphaOmega

  I have to agree with Poppers. The search for "meaning" shatters the one-ness. If we knew the meaning, would it make us fulfil our purpose any better - it may even hinder it.

  So many Bible quotes make sense when you begin to believe that "we are one" :

  • Jesus saying "whenever you did this to the least of my brothers, you did it to me"
  • the Karmic truths of the Lord's Prayer.
  • I am the vine, you are the branches etc etc

  NVR...

  See what you make of this :

  In the beginning… I was.

  I had neither shape nor form - I simply "was".

  In the beginning… You were.

  You had neither shape nor form - You simply "were".

  In the beginning, we had unity - we had "oneness", we were one.

  Using "shape and form", I created your universe in order to give the impression that we are separate:

  • I created "space" to give the illusion of "here" and "there"
  • I created "time" to give the illusion of "now" and "then"
  • I created "substance" to give the illusion of "this" and "that"

  However, in reality, none of these divisions exist because nothing is separate from anything else, neither is it separate from me.

  Everything in your universe is a part of God, not apart from God; therefore there is nothing in your universe apart from Me!
• 

  Satanus

  Humans have a subconscious connection to all other humans, primarily, but also to the animals, the earth, the sun, and the rest of the universe and beyond. Think of it like a phone system that is always on in the subconscious. The way to be able to see what is going on is to put the conscious mind, ego, etc to sleep, and then,,, just be aware.
  
  S
• 

  Satanus

  That's not to claim that i'm aware of all that all the time. Hey, i gotta drive, work and do other stuff, too.
  
  S
• 

  Little Drummer Boy

  LOL at poppers ('cause I'm not bright enough to understand 1/2 what he's saying)

  Reminds me of the Geiko commercial.

  Scene: TV interviewer, caveman, and lady on three-way split screen:

  Lady: (stuff, blah, blah, blah)

  Interviewer to caveman: "Response?"

  Caveman to interviewer: "Yeah."

  Caveman to lady with a wtf look: "What?"

  (I'm feeling like the caveman right about now)
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  personal and universal are one and the same.

  tetra