Though we are equipped with the capacity and talent to see totality, most of the time we are deluding ourselves that we have seen totality – we are lying to ourselves, we are kidding ourselves.
We say we have seen the river. Have we really? The river starts at the source and finishes at the mouth. Have we really seen the whole river? No, we have only seen segments of it. We can tell how long it is, how deep and wide it is in parts and where it is located. That is all information for a buzzing mind thirsting for knowledge. Mind is secondary to awareness in seeing totality. We see an apple tree and express our joy at its beauty. We claim to have seen it, but have we seen every leaf, branch, and fruit on it? Have we seen all the roots and how deep they are? We pluck an apple and cut it in half. We see all the seeds in it and can tell how many seeds there are in the apple, but do we stretch our imagination to tell how many apples there are in a seed? The mind in absence of awareness is dull.
The mind is an instrument of awareness. But, unbridled and in absence of sharp awareness, it will be preoccupied with assessing, judging and storing information only to beef up one’s ego. The true act of seeing is done in total and chaste awareness when the mind is silent and the observer is fully immersed in the object of observation without any compulsion to understand or explain or remember. Awareness is when one can hear the sweet sound of the single flute in the orchestra amid the ascendant sounds generated by the guitarists, the drummer and the percussionist in the performance. This is totality.
Pure awareness, that is not cultivated consciously and turned into a habit, is an essential prerequisite for seeing the totality of any situation. It is an endowment placed in us to see, sense, feel and be immersed in an experience so its reality becomes known, but cannot be explained in words. In awareness there is no search for an end result, but merely an act of being at a heightened level that unmasks that which is otherwise not readily apparent. Awareness extends not only to the outer physical world, but also to the inner processes like thoughts and emotions. Awareness unveils the hidden dimensions of a state. When one becomes aware of one’s thoughts a realisation dawns that there is a thinker of the thoughts seated within the multi-faceted human. This knowing is another example of totality.
Seeing the totality of an object or a situation means experiencing that which is not apparent in an ordinary state.
Totality means:
- Observing a situation in a state of awe and wonderment without expressing judgment. This is when dormant inner faculties are enlivened, the mind is transcended and the whole truth of the experience is realised.
- Listening to what is said, but hearing what is not said. This is how understanding at the deepest level with sensitivity takes place.
- Not being compulsively present in all the activities of one’s children, but creating a presence in their lives with a positive influence. This is how nurturance is given to children who will remain wen we are gone.
- Exercising patience and equanimity in all situations. This is an expression of faith that the intended outcome will be delivered.
- When facing a potentially explosive circumstance with a fellow human, silently saying “the spirit in me honours the spirit in you’. This is how connection takes place at the deepest level and reconciliation and understanding are ushered in for a peaceful and lasting resolution.
- Naturally feeling joy at the deepest level upon the good fortune of another person. This is how similar good fortune is to drawn to oneself.
- Being supremely optimistic that some good will emerge from a seemingly hopeless situation. This is how inner strength and fortitude come to the fore and enable one to sail through a stormy condition.
In totality there is no fragmentation, but a deep sense of wholeness and integrity. The synergy-creating-dimension comes to light and with it acceptance of the logic defying adage “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.
In totality one is at a level of high-intensity creation and manifestation because there is unquestioned understanding and acceptance that in the Wholeness, the grand matrix of existence, all is present.