Our true state is one of connectedness, of interaction and interdependence, to the ever-present web of links and relations that spans the Universe. Awareness of this connection, however, is elusive. In fact, it is rather far from how the majority of Humanity views itself. The overriding impression of our existence, and our awareness of that existence, is that we are each of us an isolated entity within a realm, that we live and think and see and breathe within a sphere of space that is separate and different from our self. As thinking beings, we have, over the course of hundreds of centuries of cognitive evolution, logically created that separation between the Self and the Other, between everything within and everything without. This is the natural product of a mind that observes and learns about its surroundings without having a true understanding of the state of the things it observes. Millennia pass through which Humankind learns much of the material substance of the Universe, and in this learning we seem to be separate from all other things—we are not a rock or a cloud or a tree or a stream. These are a few of the countless "other things" that make up the Universe, and these things are There, and Humankind is Here, alone and, presumably, above.
     But this impression of isolation that we have arrived at after so much thought and observation is very much mistaken. It is the result of a history of learning out of context with the true state of things. It is a learning of appearances, instead of a learning of essences. Yet it was certainly a necessary process, because until Humankind learned to survive in the world we could not afford ourselves the philosophical luxuries of contemplating the essential truths of Being. If we regard the whole of the Universe from our modern vantage point of at least a relative degree of understanding and perspective, we see a very different place than that which our ancestors knew. The old illusions of "I" and "Not-I" fall away like autumn leaves preparing us for the brilliant clarity of Winter.
     The Universe is a dynamic, fluid whole full of patterns and sub-patterns, systems within systems that stretch from the outer reaches of space to the most infinitesimal subatomic particles, and in neither direction can we clearly define a limit. What we can be certain of, however, is that a pattern certainly exists. It is a pattern born of billions of years of Universal elements flowing through and around each other, shaping, teaching, learning, becoming, and all of it in a natural and thoughtless manner. This is the natural flow of the Universe, and it is precisely why everything we can observe works so well, even if we do not understand precisely why it works.
     This is another reason for the illusion of a Self separate from the world around it. Namely, that as humans we observe the world around us, so perfect in its interconnectivity, its flawless patterns, its self-supporting systems, and in contrast here we stand, each of us alone within our minds, full of fear and doubt and insecurity. But this insecurity stems from the mistaken perception of Separateness, and this sense of Separateness feeds our insecurity, and so on in a vicious spiral that continues until we reach the state of near-insanity in which Humanity finds itself today.
     The patterns that we see in the Universe and in the mandala parallel the patterns we can find in our lives if we know how to look for them. We are no different than the stars and the planets and the trees, except for our newfound ability to think, which I will return to a bit later. But as to our physical existence we are of the very same material as everything else, we have evolved from the essential Universal Matter, through much the same processes that created the very rocks upon which we stand. Therefore I possess as much importance as any other element in the Universe, as do you. So you and I are the same at heart, we are of the very same particles that flow through all of space. And we are connected by the space that seems to separate us, which despite all appearances is not an empty medium. Space itself is simply a different state of the Universal medium that makes up all matter, and so there is really no separation between us at all. And if there is nothing at all to separate us, then the same is true of all of Humanity and every single living thing that exists. All life touches and envelops itself in an expansive embrace of Cosmic unity. Everything is a part of the fluid and unbroken whole that is the Universe.
     So why have we developed this illusion of Separateness? It is because of the mysterious thought processes alluded to earlier. Remember that we are only a density of particles, as is a rock or a tree or a star. Yet it is clear that all other elements of the Universe work far better together than we as a species have been able to do. The different elements at the heart of a star do not argue about which will be the next to achieve the blissful epiphany of thermonuclear fusion. They simply do what comes naturally, which has been true for everything from the dawn of time until the fateful day that the first human passed a troublesome thought through his mind. The ability to think has sundered our species from the natural way of things, and the result is a state of chaos such as the Universe has never known. Even the cataclysmic maelstroms that gave birth to all of existence followed a pattern, a system that so far, it seems, has worked very well.
     Just as all the elements of the Universe do what comes naturally, so do we. Thought is as important a part of the evolution of the Universe as is stellar fusion, and just as inevitable. So why have we developed the ability to think? Perhaps the answer to that question can never be known, in part because to understand what is beyond thought (and therefore its source) we must first think about it, as we have no other recourse for understanding, and this is like living in a world where everything is white and trying to understand the concept of "black." But we may theorize to what end this process is taking us. If at first the thinking mind has created an illusion of division from the Universe, it is only because it was trying to understand its place within the flow of life. The mistake was a natural one. But hopefully we will reach a point where our understanding may shatter that illusion and reveal the true connectedness of things, the Oneness of the Universe.
     In this state we will realize that we are one with our neighbors, as with the plants and the animals, and the Universe at large. As a thinking being each of us is the center of a glorious mandala of awareness and purpose. That is our greatest hope and our brightest potential. For, yes, the atoms in a star work very well together, but they are not aware of it. Humanity, if it can survive the current insanities it has created, will one day realize the true nature of Being—that we exist in blissful union with each other and with everything around us. We are each of us an essential string in the tapestry of Reality. We are the epitome of the Universal quest for awareness, knowledge and comprehension. We are, in essence, the very eyes of the Universe, striving to find Itself in the Void.