All of Us Are One

We’ve been doing the hard work of Turning Ideals Into Action, the topic of the Spring/Summer 2017 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal. In this week’s article “All of Us Are One,” Easwaran inspires us toward this challenge, writing, “The same spark of divinity – this same Self – is enshrined in every creature. My real Self is not different from yours nor anyone else’s. The mystics are telling us that if we want to live in the joy that increases with time, if we want to live in true freedom independent of circumstances, then we must strive to realize that even if there are four people in our family or forty at our place of work, there is only one Self.” And later he explains, “When the sages talk about ‘realization,’ what they mean is making this Self a reality in our daily living. We have to practice it in our behavior.” Let’s read that full article on pages 41–46, along with the extended passage Easwaran’s article refers to, on pages 48–51.

• Which lines particularly strike you, and how can you apply them to your life this week?

• In this issue Easwaran writes, “…whenever I see somebody changing herself to be kinder or more selfless, my heart leaps in delight.” Can you take the opportunity to make Easwaran’s heart leap by changing something small this week? Use the comments below to let us know how so we can leap too!

For our spiritual bonus this week, here is Christine Easwaran reading the passage “You Are That” from the Chandogya Upanishad.