The topic of today's article is the 'universal law' of The One and the Many. Considered by some to be one of the greatest treasures in humanity's collection of wisdom, I have come across this term various times throughout the years, but have never quite understood it's true meaning, it's origins and it's main advocates throughout the ages. Yet after interviewing our resident philosopher, Michael Brown on the topic, the (Many) pieces of the puzzle have returned to a more clear and holistic understanding (One.) You'll understand what I mean by that as you read on!

This is an enlightening topic that brings new perspective and understanding to the laws and dynamics of life, from the subatomic to the Astronomic, from the macro to the micro, from the celestial to the worldly. We hope you enjoy. 

Beyond labels and boundaries

Spirituality is a mysterious and vast field of discovery, and there are as many definitions for it as there are people on the planet. The first error of judgment we are likely to make on the topic is to think that we have a defining answer for exactly what it is. Believing in personal immortality, or having faith in an anthropomorphic God or Gods is not a pre-requisite for an individual to engage in the process of discovery. In fact, quite often as individuals delve deeper into their own search, many of the more commonly accepted religious or spiritual beliefs and idealisms tend to drop away and give rise to a more experiential, practical, and wisdom oriented way of being in the world.  

Psychiatrist Dr Larry Culiford said that “Spirituality can be thought of as the ‘active ingredient' of major world religions

It is evident that throughout our lives, we will be faced with a great deal of adversity within ourselves, and in the world around us. Of course we’ve all had our fair balance of challenges in the process of growing up, but some, more than others, have already been through an incredible bout of adversity. It may have been a childhood of physical violence or mental insults and hurts, or years of addiction, injury, obesity or poor health, the loss of a loved one, or a number of other challenges. These experiences well and truly change the course of our lives, and often bring us face to face with the ultimate questions of our existence. People often begin to question the very fabric of their cultural, social and religious upbringing when faced with these levels of pain and uncertainty; “How could a loving God allow this to happen to me or my loved ones?” and “Is there more to life than this? Is there some greater purpose out there for me?” are defining questions that arise so often amongst people during or after a crisis.

Throughout life we have all been exposed at some time or another to ideas such as ‘The Dark Side’ of life, through movies, magazines, books, conversations with friends, or maybe we have even heard of ideas such as Repressions or Pathologies of the mind. We may also have heard unusual statements such as “We must learn to own, embrace and express the shadow aspects, or dark side of ourselves.” But unless we know exactly what this illusive shadow or dark side is, and how to recognize it, how can we be expected to embrace or resolve this part of ourselves?

The Shadow is the part of our mind or psyche that we are unaware of and are blind to, it is the part of ourselves that we have disowned, repressed and dissociated ourselves from and now resides in the unconscious part of the mind.

Here we are in the modern world with access to a great abundance of information in all it’s various forms. We have accumulated a great deal of wisdom teachings over the thousands of years gone by, and we are now living in times where thousands of modern teachers and gurus are publishing books on every conceivable topic related to humanity and beyond. For people who are genuinely wanting to transform their lives, reach their potential and explore their spirituality, there is often a dilemma around who’s books to read, which seminars to attend, and who to trust. After all, it’s the 21st century, and we don’t have the time or patience for anything other than really great work that’s going to truly enhance our lives without a doubt.

So, after many years of extensive researching and soul searching, I have personally come up with a list of the three leading world teachers of our times. They are advanced, comprehensive and credible, and don't purely cover spirituality, they also branch out into all other areas of life. These are the multi-disciplinary teachers who have done a huge amount of study and research, and have truly earned their rankings as credible, trustworthy educators, and have earned their titles as the heavyweights of wisdom.