Oneness

Oneness. It is said that we are all one – and in the true realisation of this magnificent oneness we throw off the shackles that bind us in our limitations - as indeed is illustrated by the popular representation of the Lord Shiva trampling the dwarf of ignorance underfoot.
For those of us still on the path, as in many things, it is perhaps easier to philosophize or intellectualize about ‘oneness’ than to actually realise oneness by merging into it.
For me, glimpses of what that oneness can be are generated by groups of people engaged in communal activities that require a very high degree of synchronicity and therefore impose – whether consciously or unconsciously – a level of inter-connectedness that is not something many of us tend to experience in our everyday lives.
Though I can’t share most of my experiences with you, I recently stumbled upon a ‘youtube’ video that has a similar effect. Here is a group of people so obviously engrossed in the sheer joy of their synchronized performance and their music that ‘oneness’ simply crept up and engulfed them. No wonder they just wanted to play and play.
Please enjoy the University of North Texas 2 O'clock steel drum ensemble performing at the Global Rhythms concert. Spring 2007. Every time I watch this (and I have to admit I find it addictive) the glimpse of ‘oneness’ I get from it really “hits the spot”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knhpIVx7yyM