Opening Our Eyes to Uniqueness

By DR. PETRA WELDES

This article appeared in the June 2018 issue of Science of Mind magazine

Ecosystems, gardens, house pets and human rights have all taught me something important about our individual uniqueness and how appropriate it is to celebrate the diversity. What, you might ask, do these things have in common? Let’s take a look.

When I first started studying environmentalism, I learned about the ecosystem and how important it is to understand how it works. Every natural area can be seen as disparate items to study, care for or exploit — trees and insects, birds and soil, animals and creeks. But in separating one from the other, the integrity of the whole ecosystem is lost and its long-term viability is threatened. Looking at the system as a whole, I learned to notice that individual species and even individual lives each have a unique and necessary place in the well-being of the whole system. When one species or even a few individuals were removed or introduced, the entire system was impacted. This was my first introduction to the dance between the individual and the whole. ​ THE ONE AND THE MANY

I was an avid organic gardener when I lived in the Northwest, and my garden opened my eyes to the individual beauty of each flower, each plant and each sun-ripened vegetable I picked. Each one was glorious and perfect, yet utterly unique — no two peppers, dahlias or green bean bushes were exactly alike, yet each added to the garden and produced fruit or flower in perfect alignment with their individual impetus to grow. Now, I’m also an avowed cat lover. I’ve had cats most of my adult life, and while I enjoy my friends’ dogs, they aren’t for me. As a child, my family had hamsters, guinea pigs, fish, turtles, birds and frogs. And as an adult, I’ve had white, gray, blonde, black, long-haired, short-haired and rescue cats. Why do we need all these different kinds of cats? And why do we want all these different types of pets? If the universe wanted everything to run according to plan, as far as I’m concerned, there is no need for any other pet than the perfect short-haired, sun-loving, mischievous, imperial house cat. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? I can hear every dog lover, horse lover and snake lover protest. As they should! Ecosystems, gardens and house pets all have in common the dialectic of “the one and the many,” also known as “Unity and Multiplicity.” In every case, we see both the whole and the necessary way the whole expresses as a variety of unique individual emanations. EACH AN INFINITE EXPRESSION Science of Mind teaches us that there is one Infinite Presence and Power, yet that Infinite One is forever expressing Itself through the variety of form and creation. So why would we look at people and the human race any differently? Each and every group is a variety of expression, just a seach and every person is a precious, unique expression of the One. Human rights are, then, an acknowledgment and a celebration of this multiplicity of form that the One Infinite creates. Now, here’s my thought experiment that really helps me grab hold of this idea: There is an Infinite Reality, right? Infinite Reality isn’t any physical form because It simply IS absolute being, always and in all ways. The true Infinite can’t be any form, any thing. But, because It’s infinite, It also has to have the ability to express every potential that is possible, correct? Voila! The reason for creation. The created physical universe, the space/time continuum, is the “manifest body of God,” as Dr. Ernest Holmes states. It is through the infinite number, variety and multiplicity of forms that take an infinite amount of time and space to express the Infinite One. And, if one of those infinite expressions were missing — say you or me or that weirdo down the street, maybe one of those people we disagree with, disapprove of or want to cast out of our hearts (or ourselves when we feel inferior and insecure) — then that would be infinity minus one. This would no longer be infinity, meaning the Infinite One would no longer be fully expressed, which is unthinkable. Do you see how unique, precious and important you are? Do you see how perfectly you fit the size and shape of the expression that Infinite One needed to be fulfilled? And if this is true for you and me, then this is true for every person and every living being. ​ A PRACTICAL APPLICATION Each week this month, contemplate one of the following quotes from Holmes. Witness how your life begins to shift. 1. “Unity does not mean uniformity. Our unity with other people does not mean that we must think and act as they do. All it means is that we should get along with them. We should unify with everything, while at the same time keeping intact and whole that God-given something at the center of our being which is the Spiritual Ego.” 2. “Everything in the universe is a unique individualization or expression of the One Thing that is the Cause of all things. No two blades of grass are alike, no two grains of sand, no two thumbprints; no two of anything are alike and nothing ever exactly reproduces any other thing. This means that the one ultimate Cause is pressing against every individualization, flowing through it or him or her, and that every event in the finite has an infinite possibility behind it.” 3. “You should become aware that the One Creative Power is expressing in you in a unique way and that it is always pressing against you, seeking a fuller outlet of its infinite possibilities. You do not have to imitate or compete; you are a special creation of God, and you have full access to the unlimited potential of Infinite Intelligence.” 4. “You exist that this Power may have another, a unique, outlet for Its expression. The more life you express, the more of It flows through you. Therefore, every legitimate desire you have is the pushing of this Power through you into Its own self-expression. In this way you are in partnership with the Infinite.” 5. “Every longing and yearning you have ever had, every secret desire of your soul, every constructive ambition you have ever had, is a whispering of this Life assuring you that you are one with It. You are a concrete manifestation, a personification of It. You are a center where Life, passing through you, becomes a definite, distinct, unique individualization of Itself. There is no one else like you in all the universe; there never will be.” ​