Oneness - perhaps you have experienced it; perhaps you have wanted to; perhaps you will. It can come in a flash or over lifetimes. It can come in meditation, imagination, play, passion, work, war, conversation, or contemplation. It can come when you are alone, in a throng of thousands, or in coupled intimacy. It can be on any scale from self to the cosmos and beyond. And it is more common than you think; it is truly universal and universalizing. For over forty years, the editors of this work have gathered reflections of oneness in poems, passages, prayers, songs, sayings, scientific observations, spiritual insights, jokes, jests, and verbal jousts from across all continents and centuries. They have crafted this collection to share these mantric expressions that inspire in the reader what the authors have experienced. The research, indexing, and documentation help the reader find and explore the visions of over 500 contributors from nearly 100 nations and 130 settings in over 1,000 quotations covering hundreds of facets of oneness. Any one of them could be a key that unlocks a vibrant inner journey for you and your own, unique experience of the one. Open the book and see for yourself. The expressions have been selected for their ability to stimulate in the reader a sense of oneness akin to what the author describes, but there is no telling how you will respond. Like paintings that people react to in various ways, each quotation may kindle different responses in readers. What we do know is that the words presented contain energies that affect people in positive ways. And the breadth of expression from different voices, settings, lands, time periods, and facets of the One will demonstrate how people from a wide variety of backgrounds have experienced and expressed oneness throughout the ages and throughout the world. If you allow yourself to fully absorb them in a personal process of reflection, they will open in you new vistas and connections. You can use them to expand your awareness of the inter-relatedness of people, life, and many types of things. You can use them to change your way of thinking and acting in the world. And you can use them to change your consciousness to one more in harmony with the world and all of its parts and participants. Enjoy! 3
