Exploring Connections
By Tommy Sage
With the arrival of summer, many of us are eagerly excited to visit and vacation with friends and family. We anticipate the sunshine and fun times, but we especially look forward to reconnecting with the people we love, whether it's a camping trip or a Fourth of July cookout. It's always special to be able to reconnect with loved ones who may live far away, or maybe we just don't see them very often because our lives are so busy.
What is a human connection?
What do we really mean when we say we want to connect with someone? Like when we go on a date and judge whether or not we felt a real connection. When a marriage deteriorates and both sides say that they just feel disconnected from each other, even though they share the same bed. When our kids are away at camp and the distance makes our heart ache.
It can be hard to describe what it means to feel connection. Let's look at an example of where it’s easy to find - the relationship between a parent and a child. Holding our own newborn baby, we feel a oneness with them we can’t describe. As we watch them grow and learn, we feel their pain when they fall, and cry tears of joy when they have milestone moments. When they look up at us, they look with eyes of total and unconditional love. If you’ve had kids, take a moment to think about the bond you feel towards them.
Another easy place to find connection is in a good romantic relationship. When you first meet and really click, the fires burn hot. You can find yourselves melding together in passionate moments that stretch through the night. And in a long, meaningful relationship, you share silent knowledge with each other, almost reading each other's minds as you use this intimate bond to nurture trust and well-being towards each other.
We also make connections with extended family members. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins. We connect with good friends. We connect with teammates. We connect with teachers. We connect with co-workers and even bosses sometimes.
The Spiritual Dimension
The truth is, there is a world of hidden connection behind the scenes that unites us all. Psychologist Carl Jung described the Collective Unconscious as a shared reservoir of human experience that binds us together. But the word “unconscious” is a misnomer. It is actually our Collective Consciousness. We call it unconscious because it is normally inaccessible to our everyday minds, but the truth is that it is there waiting for us behind the scenes, actively feeding our dreams, our imaginations, and our intuitions. It is a pipeline connecting us all to a common source, and that Source is the human realm of the One Mind of our Creator.
That same link between us and the Creator also bonds us to every other human on the planet. We are all feeding off the same stream, and it allows us to channel some of that underground energy and information into our relationships, stimulating our emotions and providing us with deep sensations of knowing and belonging. Of Connection.
Opening Up
But in order to connect, we must open ourselves. We must drop our guard. We must trust each other. If our defenses are up, we cannot connect. We must allow fear, doubt and shame to fall to the wayside and boldly express love to each other, so that our own negative thoughts and emotions do not create a barrier to the free-flow of energy and information that is Connection.
Since we are all connected “underground,”we already have half of a circuit wiring us to everybody else. Imagine what happens when we hold someone close: the energy travels from the battery deep within us from God, physically moving through us, and then our partner via our physical touch, completing the circuit back to God through our own connection to the Collective Consciousness and our Creator. The energy travels full-circle and begins to resonate. And how does it feel when we give that big hug to our loved one?
It feels like going home.
That’s because we are getting closer to home. This Earth existence is the realm of separateness. Every step closer to God is a step towards unity with all of creation, starting with our fellow humankind. So as we open up our connections to others, we mirror the world of Souls and of Heaven where our interconnectedness is that much greater, where no one is ever alone.
Experience this Universal Connection Firsthand
If you want to try an exercise in nurturing and experiencing connection, first find someone you trust. A partner, a good friend, or a close family member would be a good candidate. Sit across from each other, perhaps at a kitchen table. Now hold each other’s hands across the table, and look directly into each other’s eyes. Don’t say anything. Don’t look away. Just clear your minds, hold each other’s hands and gaze directly into each other’s eyes, with no expectation and infinite patience. Keep it up for several minutes if you can, and let the observer in you note what your Connection feels like in this moment.
Now that we have a good sense of what Connection really is, we can take that knowledge and apply it to the rest of our interactions. We can bring that energy to everyone we meet, even complete strangers. After all, we are all connected through the One Mind of our Creator. We can explore as near or as far as we like.
Prioritize Connection over Politics
As we go about our summer visiting friends and family, consider dropping your guard. If you have relationships that are strained because of politics or culture, do your best to leave those feelings aside and view the true value of your relationships. If someone disagrees thoroughly with us, we can look them in the eyes and say “You are my other self.” We can recognize that though we appear to be at opposite ends of a spectrum, we are all part of a greater, more permanent and lasting state of interconnectedness.
So take some time to appreciate the connections you have. If we’ve been neglecting them, there is always the present moment to act and reestablish what was lost. Summer is a great time to do that, go out and share your energy with those you love! Good vibes are contagious, keep 'em spreading!
-Tommy Sage