The 40 days to Oneness and Global Oneness Day by Anakha Coman and James Twyman

The Fire of Oneness

“Spirituality is an inner fire, a mystical sustenance that feeds our souls. The mystical journey drives us into ourselves, to a sacred flame at our center. . . . In its presence we are warmed and ignited. When too far from the blaze, we are cold and spiritually lifeless. We are less than human without that heat. Our connection to God is life itself.”
— Marianne Williamson

“The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.”
— Ferdinand Foch

“I will set fire to the temple of your body and make its thorns a bower of roses.”
— Rumi

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Exercise

Today you’ll enter the unifying and purifying fire of Oneness. This eternal fire burns within the inner sanctuary of your soul and within the heart of the Divine Beloved. In the fire of Oneness, the flames become united, joining together to form a single, powerful flame. It is your soul’s deepest desire to be in union with the Divine and the Divine’s desire for your soul is no less. The only difference is that when you unite with the Divine, you become smaller and the sacred presence within you grows. You (the ego) must decrease so the I AM presence (the soul) can increase. This is the invitation that’s offered to you today—to surrender into the fire of Oneness, to be held within the crucible of Divine love and be transformed and delivered into greater union with the Beloved.

Do you have the soul stamina to continue? You must endure the inner wounding and humbling self-knowledge so that true illumination can be received. In the fire of Oneness, the small self, the ego, is annihilated. This is the fire’s work of turning coal into the brilliant diamond. This is the Divine’s handiwork: burning away everything that conceals your essence so that the nature of your true self can be revealed. As 17th-century Japanese poet and samurai Mizuta Masahide wrote: “Barn’s burnt down— / now / I can see the moon.” This is the exposure to the workings and limitations of the false self. The fire of Oneness transforms the games and ploys of your false self and prepares you for a life of union and a consciousness stationed in Oneness.

Today’s practice focuses on your willingness to be transformed by the fire of Oneness. Your intention is to cultivate an inner condition of your heart, a readiness to fully devote yourself to the embodiment of Oneness. This is your humble and life-altering vow to serve humanity by tending to the Oneness growing within you. In the flames of Oneness, you’ll become an instrument of Divine joy, peace, and love. You’ll receive an infusion of Divine grace as you silently sit in the stillness of the inner fire as your old self burns. There’s nothing to do but call out, saying, “Beloved, bring me into union with you!” And in that simple prayer, you submit yourself to the will of the Divine. This is the hour of God, a truly joyous moment, for a thriving and sustained Oneness is the promise that will be kept. Hallelujah!

Now take the bowl with your “shadow of Oneness” writings to a safe place where you can light them on fire and allow them to burn. This is a ritual that mirrors the inner work that the Divine is enacting on your soul. Strike a match (or use a lighter) and ignite the symbolic separation that has been placed in the sacred crucible—the bowl. Whisper this prayer: Beloved, I surrender all of the ways that I have lived in separation. I am now ready to come into greater union with you. Burn away all that is not love, all that is not essential within me. Prepare me to serve the growing Oneness. Amen.

Watch as the fire burns the paper to ash. Feel the sacredness of this moment. When it’s complete, return the ashes to the earth to nourish the soil—the soul of a new life. Remember that this inner work—the fire of Oneness—is occurring within you. Continue to surrender all that you encounter as separation, fear, and grievance to the fire for transformation. Recite the chant: I will, my will, Thy will. This will serve as a prayer of devotion to union with God, the Divine Beloved.

At the start and end of your day (and as often as you feel drawn), read the Prayer of St. Francis, and know that you’re being fashioned into the most perfect and wonderfully made instrument of Divine Love possible. Give thanks for this truth . . . feel gratitude for the all-consuming fire of Oneness.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Affirmation

I AM my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine, forever united in a single flame of Divine Love.