The Oneness Method
What Is Oneness Meditation?
Oneness meditation is the practice of letting the ego's sense of separation relax, so you can feel what the Ubunye Method teaches is already true: you are not separate from everything around you. In the Method's own words, the point is oneness, and it "transforms inner conflict into oneness and unity."
UbunyeNguni for oneness
Oneness begins within
The Method describes spirituality as the idea "that we are more than our physical bodies and have an energetic connection to everything that exists."
We live as if we are separate: from other people, from the world around us, and often from ourselves. The Method is clear about where that comes from. "Remember that you are not separate from everything around you, and that is only the ego's illusion."
That's why oneness is not something you reach for outside yourself. "The more you dive inward and open up, the more connected you are." Even when you feel like a small, disconnected part of life, you are "still within the whole."
From the sessions Spirituality and the Ego, A Rediscovery of Self and How It All Started
yourself
An analogy from the Method
The ego and the higher self
One of the simplest ways the Method explains oneness is with something you use every day.
A computer without wifi
"A computer without wifi or an internet connection only has access to what is on the hard drive. This is much like the ego-self."
The ego isn't the enemy. It's "a constructed viewpoint of life", an identity, "not negative or positive, just an identity of who you perceive yourself to be."
The universal internet
"The higher self you can imagine is the universal internet, with its own heartbeat."
It "is the spiritual self uninhibited by the physical", and it guides gently, "never forcing will or trying to persuade us into any given direction."
Connecting to the higher self doesn't replace the ego. "It is to complement the ego, to help you make better decisions within."
From the sessions The Higher Self, Dropping the Ego, Stress and Belief Systems and How to Read Energy
The path
How the Ubunye Method moves you toward oneness
The app is a guided journey of short insights and meditations. These four threads run through it.
Notice
The ego
"Our identity or ego is a belief system about who we are." Seeing it clearly is where the work begins.
Dropping the Ego · How the Ego Operates
Soften
Into neutrality
"When we are entirely neutral with what is, we align toward our higher selves." What that alignment produces is what the Method calls flow: "I flow when I am aligned; I am aligned when I flow."
The Higher Self · Connection to the Higher Self
Open
The heart
When the mind reaches its limits, "we can then learn about the heart."
Setting the Right Path · Living in the Heart
Become
The soul
"To know the soul is to know infinite awareness, to shift and become one with all there is."
Living with Soul · Soul Self
Reconnecting with these parts of yourself is also a process of healing. Read more about guided meditation for emotional healing.
At the centre of it all
"Your conscious connection to the heart connects you to all that is."
In the Method, the heart is where oneness is felt, not just understood. "This heart-mind state of oneness working in unity brings through the idea of the soul. It interconnects logic and emotions."
That's why so many of the meditations move your attention out of your thoughts and into your chest. As one session puts it, "let us move from a mental state of being to a heart-filled state of being."
From the sessions How to Read Energy, Living with Soul and Living in the Heart
Try it now
Living in the heart: a short practice
- Settle. Close your eyes and relax. Breathe in for a count of three, and out for a count of three. Do this three times.
- Move into the heart. Let your attention drop from your thoughts into your chest. Move "from a mental state of being to a heart-filled state of being."
- Open. "Gently open your heart to yourself with intention." Take your time here.
- Love. Bring to mind the word love, and connect with how it feels. "Surround your entire being with this love energy."
- Stillness. Now bring to mind the word stillness. Rest, and notice whatever feelings or insights come.
- Expand. "Absorb this energy, take it into your heart, and allow your heart to expand." When you're ready, open your eyes.
This is a short taster. The full guided version is Living in the Heart, one of the Empowering the Self sessions in Chapter 1 of the app.
To be clear
What you don't need to begin
A religion
The Ubunye Method is spiritual, not religious. Spirituality here simply means that you are more than your physical body, with an energetic connection to everything that exists.
Experience
You don't need to have meditated before. As the Method puts it, "understanding comes only through practice", and The Fundamentals starts from the very beginning.
To become someone else
There's no guru to imitate. "Self-discovery is about owning who you are, who you already know yourself to be, flaws and all."
Questions
Oneness meditation: common questions
What is the goal of oneness meditation?
To experience, not just believe, that you are connected to everything around you. In the Ubunye Method, oneness "transforms inner conflict into oneness and unity", beginning with becoming one with yourself.
Do I have to get rid of my ego?
No. The Method sees the ego as "just an identity of who you perceive yourself to be", neither good nor bad. The practice is to let it relax into neutrality, so the higher self can complement it rather than replace it.
What is the higher self?
"The higher self is the spiritual self uninhibited by the physical. The goal of the higher self is to guide." It guides gently, "never forcing will or trying to persuade us into any given direction."
Is oneness meditation religious?
Not in the Ubunye Method. It's spiritual, not religious. Spirituality here means that we are more than our physical bodies and have an energetic connection to everything that exists. You don't need to adopt any belief system to practise.
What does "Ubunye" mean?
Ubunye is the Nguni word for oneness. We chose it for what it means, not as a religious or cultural affiliation. Read more about the Ubunye Method.
Where should I start?
With The Fundamentals, the free set of four sessions that opens the app. You can also try the short heart practice above.
Meditation can bring up difficult emotions and isn't right for everyone. Please read our disclaimer before you begin.
Keep exploring
Related reading
Begin the path
Come back to yourself
Living without the resistance you have been carrying is what the Method calls flow, and it begins with becoming one with yourself. You don't need to believe anything to start. The Fundamentals, four sessions to begin with, is free.
