Practice 32
The Community of Oneness
“Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls
as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.” — George Bernard Shaw
“There can be no vulnerability without risk; and there can be no community without vulnerability; and there can be no peace—ultimately no life—without community.” — M. Scott Peck
***
Exercise
The community of Oneness is the manifestation of the beloved community, where everyone is interconnected and interdependent. We work together to meet the needs of all, living in global sufficiency rather than individual excess. It’s a community that lives and breathes Jesus’s commandment to truly and continually love one another. The beloved community is a living expression of the vows of oneness: to protect and care for each other and be a source of compassion and strength as we become instruments of love in service to the growing Oneness.
The Community of Oneness
“Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls
as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.” — George Bernard Shaw
“There can be no vulnerability without risk; and there can be no community without vulnerability; and there can be no peace—ultimately no life—without community.” — M. Scott Peck
***
Exercise
The community of Oneness is the manifestation of the beloved community, where everyone is interconnected and interdependent. We work together to meet the needs of all, living in global sufficiency rather than individual excess. It’s a community that lives and breathes Jesus’s commandment to truly and continually love one another. The beloved community is a living expression of the vows of oneness: to protect and care for each other and be a source of compassion and strength as we become instruments of love in service to the growing Oneness.
Your practice today is to enter the circle of love by living the vows of the community of Oneness everywhere you go and with everyone you meet. Instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity or staying in your comfort zone, perceive and receive this Divine wisdom every day. Expand your heart and exclude no one. The world community of Oneness is manifesting in the here-and-now as you practice these vows:
1. Love others with a love that is both fierce and tender.
2. Watch over and care for others as you would the “pupil of your own eye.”
3. Be a sanctuary of compassion and a source of strength for all.
Write these vows on an index card and place them in your pocket. Or keep them where they’re easily seen, such as on your mirror or refrigerator or even as the screen saver on your computer. Read them often. Make it your intention to be an instrument of love in the world by expressing these vows in all of your endeavors.
1. Love others with a love that is both fierce and tender.
2. Watch over and care for others as you would the “pupil of your own eye.”
3. Be a sanctuary of compassion and a source of strength for all.
Write these vows on an index card and place them in your pocket. Or keep them where they’re easily seen, such as on your mirror or refrigerator or even as the screen saver on your computer. Read them often. Make it your intention to be an instrument of love in the world by expressing these vows in all of your endeavors.
At the end of the day, take some time to contemplate and write about your experiences in your journal. What do these words mean to you? How do you practice these vows? What does it look like to love others with tenderness? With fierceness? What does it mean to care for others as an extension of yourself—that is, like “the pupil of your own eye,” as stated in the Bible? How do you create a sanctuary of compassion? Are you a source of strength for others?
Finally, as you feel your own longing to return to the community of Oneness, reflect on this inspiring passage by author and activist Starhawk (from her book Dreaming the Dark):
We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been—a place, half-remembered, and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free.
AffirmationWe are all longing to go home to some place we have never been—a place, half-remembered, and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free.
I AM expanding my circle of love, becoming a sanctuary of compassion and a source of strength for everyone I meet.
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