Where Does It All End?

Another way to look at the whole concept of connection is to consider who we really are. Most people think of themselves as finite creatures, limited by the reaches of their arms and the depths of their thoughts. But who are we really?

If I cut off my arm, am I still me? Most people would say so. Lose my legs? I’m still me. Any other part of my body? Still me. So I’m more than just a physical body.

What about my mind then? Am I the sum of my thoughts? Well, I have lots of thoughts that are much less than who I think I really am. I get angry, I get fearful, I get all sorts of things and think and say and do lots of things that I’m not very proud of or happy about. And when I think or feel or say or do them, I don’t feel like I’m being who I really truly am. I know I could choose more nobly, more healthily, more wisely, but in those moments I give in to fear and I don’t make those wiser choices.

When I look back on my life and the various things I’ve said and done, when I consider all the high points of my life, all the times when I felt most fully alive and most truly in tune with Who I Really Am, they’re all about love and giving and a feeling of connection with others and with all life itself. They’re never about being fearful or angry or selfish or anything else that I sometimes also choose. So when it comes to my thoughts, which then drive my words and actions, I have to conclude that I am not the sum total of all my thoughts, but rather I’m that person or that energy that is purely love-based and that produces the highest and most loving thoughts, words, and actions in any given moment.

But obviously I’m not there yet. These other, less desirable, not-who-I-really-am thoughts keep happening among the ones with which I do more positively identify. So does that mean that in this moment I’m not really anybody yet, or that I’m some combination of “good” and “bad?” No. I believe I am that which is becoming the full and perfect expression of the Divine within. Ultimately the fear that drives any other expressions will fade and vanish, and all that will be left is Love. The more I tune in to that loving presence and consciously strive to live from that place, the closer I move to my goal. In any given moment, who I really am is moving ever more toward that full expression.

But then what about the problem of mental illness? Or Alzheimer’s? Or other forms of impaired brain function in which we seemingly regress and at least on the outside appear to be retreating from this ideal of full expression of the Divine within? What about being affected by things that seem to impair our ability to choose wisely and healthily and maturely? Who are we then?

I think the answer’s still the same. We’re still that person or energy within that seeks to become the full expression of the Divine. It’s just our perception of what that expression should look like that leads us to believe we’re moving away from it when we're in this state. The Divine within, the spark of life, the soul, or whatever you want to call it, is still there. It may be subject to new limitations as to how it can express itself outwardly, but it’s still there. And life in any given body is finite, just a blink in cosmic time and existing outside of time in its transcendence of physical death. To the soul, being constrained by a brain limitation of some kind is no different from being constrained by a limited consciousness and a limited expression of itself in any given moment by someone without the same “brain limitation.” Or it’s the same as being constrained by a physical limitation. To the soul it’s all the same. It isn’t affected by such things, it cares not for time, and its connection with all other souls and with the Divine Source is never jeopardized by any limitation in its host body in this life, however long that limitation may exist in linear time.

I also think that, because we’re all connected, any given soul’s purpose here is always twofold. We not only exist in this life to further develop our own ability to fully manifest the Divine within whatever body or constraints we may find ourselves. We’re also here to aid other souls in doing the same. And as we do so we fulfill our Divine Purpose in this other way, by helping other souls bring to fuller expression and experience the Divine as they embody it at any given time. So in the case of someone with a “brain limitation,” while the soul’s individual development or expression may be limited in some ways, its ability to present itself to other souls in ways that help foster their own development and expression may not be so limited. Perhaps the very fact that it itself is limited acts as a motivator or catalyst for other souls it influences to grow in love in their own evolution. So we can’t ever be fully limited, our time here can never be fully wasted or useless, and sometimes our seemingly greatest limitations may be our most powerful means of encouraging and aiding other souls in their own growth.

Where does it all end? It doesn’t. We are part of something eternal, boundless, and ever-evolving into fuller and fuller expression of itself. In this small slice of existence we call life, we have an infinite number of forms and means for moving in that direction, through our own personal evolution and/or through being aids for the evolution of others. We cannot separate ourselves from the energy of the Divine that is All in all. Instead, we are blessed with opportunity after opportunity to embrace our roles as representatives of that Divine energy and act in each and every moment to be more fully Who We Really Are.

In the words of the great scientist and philosopher Albert Einstein, “A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."