In this thought-provoking sermon, David Keel explores the elusive yet transformative concept of Oneness. Drawing from his background in theology and his journey through various spiritual traditions, David challenges us to move beyond the limitations of the “rational mind” to experience a deeper connection with the cosmos and each other.
Is “oneness” just a metaphor, or is it a reality we can inhabit? David argues that while we often live in a state of “duality”—sorting the world into truth vs. non-truth or us vs. them—true spiritual awakening happens when we surrender the need to intellectually “understand” and instead choose to simply be.
Key Highlights:
- The Paradox of Intellect: Why the “servant” (the rational mind) often overshadows the “gift” (the intuitive mind).
- Beyond Secularism & Skepticism: How even agnostics and atheists can find value in the universal connection to community and the environment.
- The Power of Practice: Three guided Tonglen meditations (Giving and Taking) to help shift from isolation to unconditional love.
- The “Accident” of Enlightenment: Why spiritual discipline doesn’t “earn” awakening, but rather makes us “accident-prone” to it.
- Wisdom from the Sages: Insights from Albert Einstein, Lao Tzu, George Carlin, and Suzuki Roshi.
About the Speaker:
David Keel is a long-time member of the UU congregation and the facilitator of the Sunday morning Spiritual Studies class. He is the author of Pathways to Awareness, a book detailing his own spiritual awakening and journey through Presbyterianism, Episcopalianism, and deep theological study.
Topics: Spirituality