I Believe in God
In order to answer the question, "How do you perceive yourself in this great scheme of life?" I would first have to identify who I am and how I define myself.
Who am I? I am a lot of things. Am I my job, my body, and I my thoughts? I can't be anything that I can observe. Therefore I am not my job, body, or thoughts as I can observe those things. My true self is the consciousness that is observing everything. I am my spirit and my spirit is part of God. I believe we are all part of one spirit. God is in all of us and connects us all together. God is everything and anything. God is all that is seen and unseen. God is love. We are God's creation and our true self is part of God's spirit.
Quantum Mechanics has proven that there are subatomic particles that do not exist until they are observed. What's even more interesting is that this particle actually is in up to 4000 locations at the same time and only manifests into physical matter in one specific location when it is observed. With this theory in mind you could conclude that the act of observing is the act of creation. One way to explain the creation of our universe would be the big bang (creation of physical matter) was brought about by God's observation and in this act there was creation.
I believe my true self to be the observer and the physical manifestation of the creator, the ultimate observer, God. The same way that energy connects all things together in our physical world, our spirits connect us together to God. By defining myself at the highest level of consciousness I'm aware I am my spirit, the observer, which in turn is part of God. If I'm part of God and you are part of God, then we are one in the same. Do onto others as you would want them to do into you because we are all one.
This is obviously easier said than to put into practice. In reality society tells me that I am a 30 year old male, New Age Catholic, who works in sales, engaged to a beautiful women, who enjoys reading and teaching. I am an emotional being who feels happiness, anger, fear, jealousy, resentment, love, and many other emotions. Myself, my fiancée, family, and friends come first over someone I don't know and I'm plagued by social conditioning, stereotypes, and quick judgments. I am taught to mind my own business and to not get involved in other people's problems.
I wish I could completely embrace my understanding of reality in my everyday life, but I am not that enlightened. I think very few have reached such an achievement. To truly understand that we are all one is to let go of everything society says is true. To completely accept others and treat a stranger as I would treat myself, or someone I truly loved. To give up my pursuit of material possessions and take it upon myself to feed the starving and care for the less fortunate. I have the understanding, but at this point am not that enlightened.
How I see myself in the great scheme of life is to experience life for God. The more I follow the oneness philosophy and love unconditionally the more I feel connected to God. I'm meant to cherish the ups and downs. To be grateful for my health, family, and friends. To appreciate everything I have and to recognize how fortunate I am. To practice the Golden Rule and be there for people in their time of need. To lead by example and practice what I preach. To be honest, to love, to forgive, to learn, and to teach. To give thanks to you, me, God, and recognize we are all connected as observers by the Holy Spirit.
-Mario Scampoli
4/19/13
After writing this I ran across this quote:
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling 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 to 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.” — Albert Einstein
