The
original article can be found in the blog as well.
In the book
“Personal Development For Smart People” by Steve Pavlina, the author introduces the principle of oneness. I inmediately became captivated by this principle. Oneness is, as Steve quotes, recognizing that we all are already connected. I, the writer, and you, the reader, are connected by more than just the interest of this topic, or maybe for some you, Politics. Oneness is also recognizing that your actions affect us all. My actions affect everyone, whether I know you personally or not. So it makes sense to work together for the benefit of everyone, rather than taking bad actions that will only do harm to the rest of us.
As I said, I would like you to keep an open mind as you read this post, hence I’m not trying to make you support Obama (Although yes, I’m an Obama supporter), but rather explain how his strategy relates to the principle of oneness, after that, we will discuss oneness and social skills. Beyond his policies which I agree with for the most part, but not all, I think the guy is an incredibly intelligent human being. Someone who knows the power of desire and the power of connection. For one, his burning desire (which Napoleon Hill claims to be the beginning of all achievement) was the beginning of his road to the presidency. For two, his power to connect with others allowed him to associate with the right people and getting his message across very powerfully. In an article which you will later read, you will learn that in order to get what you want you must offer something valuable to those who can help you. In this case, Barack Obama filled millions of souls not only in America, but across the world with value. Among those values, he focused especially in the one of oneness or unity or anything you wish to call it.
To prove this, take a minute to look at some parts of his victory speech in Grant Park, Chicago. Here are some excerpts quoted from his speech. “The fundamental truth that out of many, we are one. That While we breath, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism with doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with the timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the people: Yes We Can.” Or you can also look at “Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as a nation; as one people“. Or if you still have any doubts, “Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can do and must achieve tomorrow”. Whether you and I agree with none, some or all of his policies is of little comparison to his power to successfully put two people in the same train of thought (even when they disagree on policies), this is what has won him the support of so many Americans, specially the young ones.
In his case, he won the presidency by adding tremendous value to the lives of millions. He wanted something out of these people (their votes), but in order to do that, he had to offer something of value to them as well (every successful President has done that). There lies the key of oneness and social success. So what is oneness? It’s really recognizing that you’re in connection with everyone else. Although, this is a impossible state to be at all times, some people certainly experience oneness a good amount of time. For example, have you ever met someone who can always make everyone around smile, someone who everyone listens to, someone who simply gets along with just everyone, someone so friendly that it gets you jealous at times
? Yes, that’s the kind of person I’m talking about. I personally know two girls who are extremely funny and friendly. They put me to shame. We could be talking and all of the sudden they engage in a conversation with a complete stranger who happened to walk by and within seconds they will have them laughing about themselves (I’m thinking of having them coach me). In any case, this ability to feel and show connection to others is what allows great interactions with great people.
Social Skills through Spirituality
Of course, getting in touch with oneness is not an easy task, if it was, we would all be living in a better world. While it’s not easy, we can train ourselves quicker to do this by becoming more spiritual. Becoming more spiritual is becoming aware of the moment, of the “now”. When you work on this, you adapt the habit of thinking of how your actions/behavior will affect yourself and others, whether it’s in your work place, school, relationships, family, etc. I’m totally serious. It may seem a bit confusing, but bear with me. I’m doing my best to put this into such a neat context that you digest it like Kool-aid. Right now, in this very moment, as you read this very line, think of what emotions and thoughts you’re currently experiencing - and by currently, I mean, in this very moment, in the now, not in the last hours, but right now. Ok, chances are you may be doing some deep thinking about what you’re reading, you may not be able to give a name to your emotion, but I’m almost certain (and hopeful) that you’re becoming aware of your thoughts and that is all that matters. When you become aware of your thoughts, you can change them to your taste. You really become conscious of the moment, you begin to see something you may not have seen before. The better news is that once you adapt the habit of watching your thoughts, you can do higher level actions without having to make an effort to watch your thoughts. At the beginning, it will be some work to watch your thoughts as you interact with someone, but once it becomes a habit, it allows you to think of responses, watch her body language and the like.
If you really wanted to connect with other people to get what you want from them (whether it’s their votes, support, a date, mentoring, etc) then you must think of the two or three or thousand of you as ONE. So, when you’re interacting with someone, watch where your thoughts lead. Are they leading to distance you from that person? Or are they bringing you closer? Are your thoughts dictating actions that make your bond bond weaker or stronger? Do your thoughts have a valid reason? Watch your thoughts, but don’t judge them. Practice becoming aware of them first, feel that difference. While this experience may be an awful face-to-face with reality, you will soon grow more powerful to change those thoughts, but first you must accept them as part of you. Remember that your thoughts are just that, thoughts. Thoughts are not you. “You” is a different concept. You have the ability to recognize your thoughts and as a side effect the power to change it. It’s fairly easy to stay in a state of oneness when you are experiencing good emotions, but it gets a bit harder to see others as part of us on the face of…
Rejection
One of the hardest things to become conscious about is rejection. When we feel rejected by someone in one way or another, we become spiritually blocked and we are not able to see how that someone and you are ONE. Her mindset may not be that of oneness at that particular moment, but yours SHOULD be! Why? Because if you’re able to feel connected to someone who rejected you, imagine how you will feel to someone who opens up to you. Whoo!. Watch your thoughts. What happens when you feel rejected? What do you think? “Is she doing this to bug me? Is she a b****? Is it my looks?” or do you think “What is her reason to do this? There must be a reason”Indeed, there is a reason and when you look for answers, you find them. You find the “why” and the you get to the “how. I dare to say that’s where Barack Obama found his success. If you can set yourself to be willing to stand rejection in order to experience oneness, then you will have more successes than failures.
Transition
I wish I could say this is my line, but it’s Steve’s “When you’re aligned with oneness, other people will pick up on that and engage you in a conversation or make it easy for you to engage them in a conversation”. How do I know this is true? On Halloween night, I was dead tired and with a swallowed ankle, yet I was partying it up. Well, I went to sit down on a couch and there were four gorgeous asian girls dancing by. Three of them looked at me and kept dancing, one of them, however, the friendliest one who danced with every one for 10 seconds just so that they don’t feel rejected saw me and sat down close to me, not next to me, but pretty close. She started looking at her phone and leaning towards me, occasionally glancing to me. I didn’t know it at that moment, I thought it was my body language, outfit or the badass outfit, but later as we talked I realized that it was none of that, it was my state of oneness. I was feeling happy because everyone else was enjoying themselves. She either sensed it or she just felt connected naturally. Eventually we began talking, one thing led to another and yeah. That is not the only time something like that has happened. It’s happened on a good number of occasions and beyond the good looks (pardon my modesty), it was my state of oneness that these girls beautifully were drawn to.
It’s a lot easier when you believe we are all one and the good news is, we REALLY are. As I said on my video on
“How to REALLY connect with people”, we have common fears and frustrations, just like we have common hopes and dreams” Our job is to find them, but to do that, we must first become aware of our thoughts, are our thoughts in alignment with others’ wellness? If so, you’re one step ahead. Be conscious of what you do, and gradually, but surely your mind will be sharper and your actions more deliberate.
Just like Barack Obama chose to relate to everyone as “One”, you can do the same, and while you may not aim for the Presidency, you can very well aim for success in your niche.
- Daniel
Barack Obama Says "We Are One", And We ARE
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