Did you know that synonyms for “unity” include “unique” and “aligned”? External unity based on a shared ideology and conformity to group standards are the selling points of patriotism, religious ideologies, social movements, and more, and such external unity uses its weight of collective expression to exert pressure on the internal being of others different from them. However, unity can also be an internal experience of being aligned, where a person is a whole being that has worked through their dual and often fragmented nature, to become a unique individual differentiated from the collective herd. In this form of unity, their morality is unique to them, and comes from their alignment with their internal being. Such a unified individual shares their creative work with the external world as an effect of their internal alignment. They perceive the internal as cause and the external as effect.
Those who are unsure of how to develop their internal alignment, and frustrated with their inability to become whole enough within to feel like an empowered creator, will usually seek refuge within the confines of the collective herd. Each herd may appear to be unique, as this satisfies their desire to feel unique in some way, but they are often in conflict with different and opposing herds. Their group identity provides them with positive feelings, especially security, and allows them to feel powerful through their externally shared identity, and through the alignment they gain from conforming to external ideologies and morality. They perceive the external as cause and the internal as effect
Do you identify with your uniqueness, and seek to align your inner being, or do you identify with a shared ideology found within a collective group or movement? Why? Do you feel more powerful when you are expressing your unique gifts and talents, or when you are expressing a shared external vision of morality? Why? How much value do you place on aligning your inner being, and differentiating yourself from the collective? How much value do you place on fitting in with the collective, and standing with others for what you feel is morally right?
