Let’s Talk about Unity

I started my "official" homeschooling year with a unity theme. For me, the idea that we are all one is the basis of every eternal truth. However, the lesson is deceivingly simple and in my experience, we have to be really aware of our thoughts and behaviors to be a living principle of unity.  And let's face it--this is an important lesson your kids are probably not going to receive in public schools.

The fact that we are connected as ONE is so simple and fundamental. It is such a basic truth, that we often overlook it in favor of categorizing and re-categorizing ourselves and our relationships with one another and Spirit. At times, our scientific and artistic minds agree on this fact and it is referred to what we would call a "Renaissance" (remembering) period.

 Yet like the yo-yo, we "drop down" from this perspective by forgetting this truth or feeling as though we have learned all that we can from this perspective. Traveling down the yo-yo's string, we long to return back to the lone finger that holds the string and yo-yo together. Some call this God, others Spirit or Creator, but whatever you call it collectively we understand that we feel separated from whatever "It" is, at the bottom of string and we have steered away from something central to our lives. Traveling back up to the string, we remember our interconnectedness and the sanctity of all life and rejoice in this connection. As children, it is imperative to understand the unity of all things before we tearing this connection apart, for this web of causation is our home. 

 When all goes wrong, everything is right in the perspective of unity.

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A *free*coloring pages on the theme of Unity from glad.is:

I am in the place where we all are ONE.

The place where everything begins.

And where everything will end.

And where we all unite as FRIENDS.

 -DeShauna J.

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 _{Talking about Unity with your child(ren)}

 

It seems to me that the idea of unity is quite easy for children to grasp. In the womb it would seem that babies are embedded in a reality of connectedness—the sway of amniotic fluid, the rhythmic beating of the heart and the sweet sound of muffled surroundings.

Of course, I don't remember being in the womb so I am using my imagination a bit here, but it would seem that the infant may first realize its separateness as they come to the realization that they have their own voice, fingers, toes, and other parts. The journey of separation is already underway as this brand new human being learns to navigate the world through cooperation and conflict with other conscious beings. 

The Crayon Kingdom by Jennie Bishop is a great story to read to young children!

Here is an "outline" or storyboard for your unity discussion with your family.  (I had this discussion with my then 4 1/2 year old, and she totally got it and still talking about it 6 months later).

1. We were all created by the Creator. Some call it God, or Spirit, etc.
2. When the Creator created us, a piece of the Creator was placed in everything and everyone. So, although we have separate bodies, we share a connection to the same source (God, Spirit, Tao, etc.) that created all things.
3. We were given minds and hearts that connect us to God/Spirit and all things Spirit created.
4. This place in our minds and hearts is where there is unconditional love…which means that we share love with everyone and everything no matter what they do. Even if they may not act nicely or like us, we still have love for them because we remember the place where we are all one. We can call this Big Heart Love.
5. The Earth is also all connected and we are connected to the Earth. We are connected to the animals and trees, the water and the fire. Every piece of the Earth has a piece of us in it, and we have a piece of us has a piece of the Earth in it. We are also connected to all of the planets, and stars, and everything in the universe because we were all created by the same thing.
6. The word "UNITY" expresses the fact that We Are All Connected. The word UNITY means that everything is brought together as ONE. In the word Unity is the "root word" "uni-". A root word is the one part of a word that you kind find in lots of other words that always has the same meaning. In this case, "uni" means "one. We have heard this root word before in words like UNIcorn (which means one horn), UNIcycle (which means one wheel), and UNIque (which means one of a kind).

 

What does it mean if we are all connected and we are all one?

• What we do and say can help other people feel happier (or sadder). We should play, talk and connect with other people like we want to be played with, talked to or connected with.
• We need to treat everything on the planet (animals, plants, etc) with love because we are connected to them.
• When we work together with unconditional love in our hearts, then we can reach the place in our minds where everything is connected. This is the place where ideas that help everyone and everything come from.

Art project:

• Link paper clips together to create a chain to represent the connection we have to each other, the Earth, space and the Creator who created everything 

Writing/art prompts:

1. What does the place in your mind where everything is connected look like?
2. What can you do to feel connected to everyone and everything?

 Thank you and please share any resources on teaching UNITY to young children!


~The Spirit in me honors the Spirit in you~



-DeShauna J.