THE LORD IS ONE

From the Torah, the “Shema” has become a fundamental statement of Jewish faith.  It says: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One.”  Previously, I have discussed the meaning of the word ‘Hear” in this context.  This word teaches some of what needs to be done to connect with God.

What does it mean that “the Lord is One”?

Contrast the physical world with the spiritual.  The material universe consists of many parts.  There are all these components making an interdependent whole.  They separate and rejoin over time.  The products often have conflicting needs and desires.  It is the nature of the earthly to be in struggle with itself.  From this comes evolution, growth, development, advancement, conflict, and all the other changes we associate with our world.  At the same time, we enjoy and are plagued with emotions, preferences, choices, rewards, and punishments.  The outcome is to assign labels like “good” and “bad” to all we see and experience.  That is the essence of life in the physical realm.

In our subjective world, we do not see things as they are.  We appreciate the environment more as we are.  Even something that seems objectively obvious is open to manipulation by our minds.  It is difficult to appraise anything completely objectively.    

God is 100% spiritual.  There is no conflict or struggle in that nature.  There is also no growth.  It is a static state of being.  It is perfectly harmonious.  It is focused and undistracted.  It requires nothing.  There are no limitations, like time, space, or perspective.  Perfect self-awareness is God.  Absent are anxiety, depression, and fear.

Being “One” is transcendent.  None of the cares.  None of the joys.  We may look at God and see these characteristics as desirable ones to cultivate in our own lives. 

So, is God’s wholly spiritual existence the best possible way to be?  God’s existence cannot be rated because it is spiritual.  It certainly is the only possible state of being [the only practical one?] for God.   But the Deity did create a material world.  Maybe there are irreconcilable deficiencies inherent in a purely spiritual existence.

God’s reality is everywhere and everywhen, always.  It cannot bump itself or age.

But it can’t do anything.  There are no boundaries to act upon.  The purely spiritual needs the physical to give it meaning and purpose.  Introduce the material, and manipulation becomes possible.

The earthly and the heavenly complement and influence each other.  Both are states of awareness that enhance the whole.  Participants can strive to activate and strengthen the bond to the other.  People can endeavor to bring the spiritual into the material world.  God can take advantage of the created universe to give meaning to a spiritual existence.

We are all cognizant of our spiritual aspects.  Serendipitous encounters, intuitive epiphanies, and prescient awakenings are manifestations of our heavenly selves interfacing in our lives.  Without knowing it, we invite the spiritual into our lives whenever we focus. 

We can intentionally invoke this process by actively meditating.  Meditation can be any activity we pursue.  It requires that we try to suppress distraction. 

The Lord Being One, we learn that there is something to be gained by attaching ourselves to the oneness God’s existence reveals.  We make our earthly lives complete in this way.  By focusing in life, we heighten our awareness.  Enlisting the heavenly powers completes and repairs the deficiencies of the physical world.

As the only 100% non-material entity, God is not bound by time.  That means the past, present, and future are there for the “viewing” anytime.  The past always exists in its time.  It is a reality that never changes.  The present we see.  The future is every possibility that each moment of the present allows.  God is aware of all these potentialities.  But which outcome actually happens is known when that future moment becomes the present moment.  So, although God lives with all possible future scenarios, only one of these storylines becomes a fleeting present.  It is then replaced as it is posted forever as the static past.  Existing with this relationship to time and events requires being only spiritual, like God. 

Predicting the future, even by God, is filled with ambiguity.  Trends and likelihoods are what are offered.  By promoting spirituality, God influences which future becomes the past.  Having total awareness of the world and its tendencies, God can inspire certain choices that lead to more limited possible outcomes.   

Being “One” implies undistracted mindfulness.  The more we can cultivate this aspect of ourselves, the greater our ability to appreciate time and events as the continuum they are.  Thus, activating our own heavenly powers can help every person to feel less bound by time.  The material world is characterized by its beginnings, endings, barriers, and limitations.  These attributes create anxiety in our lives.  Enhancing the bond between the earthly and the heavenly spheres will help alleviate these fears.

The Shema teaches us to “Hear” and to be “One” at the same time.  This means to be totally in the physical world while clearing the mind to reach the spiritual world.  We need to focus ourselves in both, simultaneously.  Opening to all sensory input without distraction puts a person in the moment.  Striving to eliminate thought at the same time develops the bridge that binds the earthly to the heavenly.

Another potential reward from activating and nurturing the spiritual is to recognize this same quality in all other human beings.  Every human being has both earthly and heavenly powers.  All people can access and strolled this spiritual path in their lives.  When enough do find their way, a point would be reached where everybody would appreciate and acknowledge that we are all so much more alike than we are different. 

We can learn that all human lives are miraculous.   We can affirm that every person’s life counts as much as our own.  We can see ourselves as part of the whole: eternal, complete, everywhere.  Ultimately, enlisting the soul stimulates amazement of our existence as individuals and a combined humanity.