There is only one thing, and we are all it.
This is one of our favorite concepts from the Vedas.
It may be easy to understand intellectually, but when you’re face to face with someone who disagrees with you on a heated topic, it’s also easy to forget.
This can make it all too easy for us humans to hurt each other.
In order for us to hurt someone else, we first need to perceive them as separate. This separation between “us” and “them” makes it easier for us to inflict pain without feeling the repercussions of our actions.
But when you start meditating, something in the brain called the dorsomedial prefontal cortex (DMPFC) starts lighting up. This is the piece of you that’s responsible for processing information about people you perceive as separate.
Over time, the DMPFC connects with the insula, the empathy center of the brain. As you strengthen this connection through meditation, you start to feel more empathy for people you used to perceive as separate. You see more of yourself inside of others and more of others inside of you.
This means that as I hurt you, I hurt myself. And as I help you, I help myself.
In the face of so much fear and polarization, it’s vital to remember this fundamental truth. There really is only one thing, and we are all it. Metabolizing this concept into your cells can change everything: your work, your relationships, your family, and how you process events happening in your community and the world.