The Oneness Blessing and Personal/Global Harmony -Dan Huber, Ph.D.

One does not have to look too far to see the turmoil we live in on a daily basis: tragic deaths abound from natural disasters, violence in our cities, schools and disharmony in relationships to each other, between humanity and nature, between cultures, etc. Just watching the evening news makes one wonder" what could possibly happen next" as we hear story after story of horror, sadness and destruction, at seemingly increasing proportions.

It would not take much too just throw up our hands and say' what's the use?" However, most of us trod on and try to make some sense of the tragedies that fill the world and often our own personal lives on a regular basis.

Many sources have been blamed for the chaos we seem to live in: economic disparities between cultures, races; our long standing disrespect for the earth and individual differences; lack of compassion and understanding in relationships, and the list goes on and on.

While it is logical to hold such forces accountable for the troubles of our world and lives, we often fail to address perhaps the most obvious and often over looked source of distress in the world, that is, our disconnection from our own inner selves and each other. Our world is increasingly filled with newer and newer electronic gadgets that in many ways make our lives simpler, yet also push us to experience an outer reality that is incompatible with inner harmony with all of the stimulation and distraction these gadgets bring into our lives.

Many leaders from a wide variety of spiritual traditions hold this sense of distance and separation from ourselves and each other accountable for the current turmoil and also see breaking down of these barriers as the solution to our problems. Once we experience a sense of inner harmony with all of our inner selves as well as see with each other and our connection with nature as one, then the chaos will gradually begin to disappear, or so is the hope.

One such way to eliminate the chaos and disharmony caused by perceiving ourselves as separate from each other is referred to as the "Oneness Blessing". Historically this has been known as "Deeksha" or the transfer of Sacred energy from a teacher to a student for the purpose of learning to experience the harmony and connectedness of all things. Plagued by personal, societal and global turmoil, this energy has been brought back to help us heal and experience a deeper sense of oneness with ourselves, others and nature.

The current revival of transferring this sense of oneness has been started in India , among other places. Specifically, two avatars, affectionately known as Sri Bhagavan and Sri Amma, representations of the divine masculine and feminine, have begun a movement know as the "Oneness Movement" to help end the suffering of humanity. To receive the Oneness blessing, all one has to do is be willing to and be open to experiencing oneness. The oneness teacher simply places his/her hands on the head for about two minutes and transfers the energy. The transfer is an actual neurobiological shift in the way we experience our reality from separateness to unity. More simply put, the Orienteering Association(OAA) of the brain, located in the parietal lobes of our brain causes us to perceive each other as different. Designed by nature to help us orient ourselves to space and time, the OAA also creates the sense of separateness that we feel. Once, "closed down", the neurobiology of the brain shifts to the area of the brain know as the Attending Association Area (AAA), an area where there are no boundaries.

Recent research into how these two mechanisms operate has been well documented. For example, writing in their book, Why God Won't Go Away, neuroscientists Andrew Newburg and Eugene O' Aquilo, studied altered states of consciousness in several different ways. One way was to examine the altered states of consciousness that experienced meditators have. For one research project, a Zen Buddhist monk who had been meditating for over 30 years was asked to volunteer for an experiment in which an intravenous tube was attached to his forearm and a string attached to his finger. The monk was then asked to begin meditating, using a mantra (Sanskrit phrase with phonetic properties that affect different levels of consciousness) and pull the string on his finger when he had reached a state of Samadhi, or enlightenment. Samadhi is a state in which we are free of thoughts, feelings, and awareness of the outside world, a state of ultimate bliss. As instructed, the monk reached this state and pulled the string on his finger. At this time, a radioactive isotope was inserted into the tube in his arm to record via a CAT scan the Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF) in his brain, a measure of brain activity. What the researchers found was truly remarkable. When in the state of enlightenment, the orienteering response, a center located in the cerebral hemisphere of the bran that is responsible for helping us orient ourselves to where we are in space and time was shut down! The impact of meditating with the mantra had the effect of disorienting the monk to the external world, and reorienting him to his inner world/reality.

Similar results have been found with the use prayer, chanting, and other methods to alter our state of mind. For instance, when individuals receive Deeksha, or the transference of Divine Grace from a teacher bestowed with the power to awaken us to the enlightened states, fMRI's show a shift in CBF from the same Orienteering Association Area (OAA) of the brain that was active prior to the monk's meditation and an opening of the Attention Association Area (AAA) located in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, and area of the brain associated with higher states of consciousness.

Fortunately for us, this state can be experienced without years and years of meditation. Oneness teachers train for 21 days in Golden City India to not only purify themselves of blocks to their experience of Oneness, but also receive daily blessings which create the shift on a permanent basis in them which then allows them to pass this on to others. It is a painless, joyful and loving way to create inner harmony and peace within yourself and others. While life continues, those who have received the blessing report life becomes less entangled, they are less attached to their suffering even though "life happens", and feel more harmony, compassion and love for others.

So, if you are looking for a way to help the world and yourself become more peaceful with each breath, consider experiencing the Blessing

Dan Huber, PhD received his doctorate in Human Development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Huber has been a child/family therapist in private/public clinical settings, University Professor, author and workshop/seminar leader for over 35 years, including founding a camp and school to help children and families learn peaceful ways to relate. He incorporates mindfulness methods and relaxation techniques into his work with children and families to promote personal and family healing. Dan completed the 21 day process in Golden City , India in October, 2006 and offers the blessing in the Milwaukee and Sheboygan areas. For more information, visit the Oneness University website at www.onenessmovement.org .