When approached intellectually, the theme of unity - of /what is unitive - is vast, and it's much easier to just experience it. But how can I experience an internal unity that sometimes seems so elusive?

I can try to define certain aspects of unity that allow us to experience it. 

What we perceive as unity has characteristics that give us a feeling of tranquility, order, peace, oneness, harmony, a whole, originality (sometimes), etc. At  the same time, unity has another aspect that has to do with our relationship with our social environment. Those feelings can’t exist separated  from our interaction with the world. 

In simpler words, it is when we act that we either feel or don't feel inner unity. It is in acting, in doing, that we become aware of what we feel. It is in interacting with other human beings and the world that we can really register internal unity or lack thereof. We consider an action "valid" if it manages to produce a register of unity whose validity has nothing to do with obeying any kind of moral, religious, ethical, or social rule. The unity we are speaking of here has little to do with the conventions of the times we live in, despite the enormous influence of the historic moment on each of us.

What we experience as unitive is the register of valid action. How do we know if an action is valid? A valid action gives us a feeling that we are growing internally, and we want to repeat it because it has the flavor of continuity over time. Viewed from another angle, valid action is neither circumstantial nor temporal. It works through repetition, through enjoyment, and is projected into the future. And this, besides producing internal unity, allows me to accumulate  valid actions within me.

On the flip side, we have what is not unitive. When we do something that is not unitive, it feels very much like we are dividing ourselves, going against ourselves internally. This division between internal poles of tension produces the experience of contradiction, an experience that can make us feel confused, out of balance, irritable, disappointed, stressed out, and so on. Note that all these registers are much easier to experience than registers of unity.

We could also say that contradiction often makes us feel like we are "missing something." This feeling is expressed in phrases or silent thoughts like "I don't have enough..."; "If I had…"; “I don't like being treated this way…”; “It's not my fault…”; etc. Lack, or what "is not," is almost always part of contradiction. In other words, the point of view from which we perceive ourselves, others and the world is negative or lacks something. Worse still, when I finally "get" what I've always dreamed of having, that long-sought happiness turns out to be ephemeral, and very soon I start chasing a new desire. Contradiction feeds on desire and on what I imagine I do not have.

A life of unity, full of a "growing happiness" (static happiness does not seem to exist) where I feel like I'm in agreement with myself, becomes possible when I have less desire, less suffering, and above all when my actions in the world end in others and not in myself.

I think it is important to point out that while desire produces contradiction and suffering, this does not mean that we do not have desires but we can diminish, elevate and purify our desires. Many of our impulses can move in a unitive direction if we nudge them in that direction, if we convert and refine them. After all, we'd better start with what we have, otherwise we'll get trapped between seeking success and failing to achieve it.

Even though these reflections keep going back to the idea of taking a positive attitude towards what the world offers me (or just throws at me), the ability to say "yes" is an essential key in producing internal unity. Saying "yes" automatically (or semi-automatically) puts me in the unique situation of looking for the best in whatever has been thrown at me. Whereas if I say "no," I'm allowing my personal tendencies, fears, and habits to decide for me. Then, almost without realizing it, I put myself in a situation that I register as contradictory. 

There's a kind of saying that pretty much sums up what happens when we decide to take a positive approach. It goes like this: “Do not harm others. Otherwise, do what you want..." This saying begins with a "no," but obviously, by simply asking myself whether what I'm doing "will harm anyone," I put myself in the situation of evaluating my actions, and in that evaluation a "positive" behavior almost always emerges as a unitive or valid response.

And if we want to look at all this from a positive point of view, we can complement this saying with the principle of solidarity, which says: "When you treat others as you want to be treated, you liberate yourself." This is the best combination for registering internal unity.

EDITED & TRANSLATED BY TRUDI RICHARDS

PHOTO BY RAFAEL EDWARDS