Remembering Who We Are- A History

On this cosmic exploration, let's dive back into the origins of our ancient care-takers of the Earth. The modern world is so busy that we often forget how celebrated life was to our early ancestors, and how they tried to make sense out of existence.

"Thou Art That" (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7- India)

Ancient Vedic philosophy describes that the individual soul, or Atman, is identical to the creative force of the cosmos, Brahman. "Tat Tvam Asi" asserts that we are no different from what has always existed.

"I am because we are" (Ubuntu)

The indigenous of Southern Africa hold the philosophy that nature is not separate of humans, and we are all intertwined as a family of all living things together.

"Wu-wei" (The Book of Lieh-tzu)

In ancient China, the nameless and formless flow from which all creation emerges is referred to as the Tao. "Wu-wei" is the natural flow of of all things in the universe experiencing itself as humanity.

"Unity of Existence" (Wahdat al-Wujud)

Sufism, a mystical and spiritual dimension of Islam focused on divine love, gave rise to the great poet and follower Rumi. His doctrine suggests that everything belongs to the Creator and all is a reflection of that singular reality.

"Ein Sof" (Kabblah)

This mystical tradition of Judaism views the entire cosmos as the Divine's Creation. The feeling of being a separate entity within it is a only a perceptual barrier (Klipot).

"Interdependent Origination" (Buddhism)

The philosophy that isolation as a separate "self" is only an illusion.

"Anima Mundi" (Greco-Roman Paganism)

In ancient Greece, the great thinker Plato believed that the universe was a single, unified soul that originated from the ultimate source of goodness and existence.

"Ma-at" (Ancient Egypt)

The belief that all of creation is the divine consciousness, held together by a great cosmic web.

"Mitakuye Oyasin" (North American Indigenous)

Translates to "all my relations"- describing how every rock, animal, plant, animal, and human are all relatives in the circle of life. Spirits of ancestors are always connected and give help when called on.

"The Dreaming" (Indigenous Australians)

The philosophy that Ancestral Beings did not leave after creating the world but transformed into it as the actual rocks, trees, stars, and bodies of water. This describes a boundary-less existence between humanity and nature, and that the past, present, and future always exist at once.

"Theosis" (Early Christianity and Patristic Tradition)

Saint Athanasius, an early founder of deification, expressed that "God became human so that humans might become God", describing the ultimate goal of humanity is to reunite with its creator through love and spiritual purification. Humanity remembers divine nature through higher acts of devotion.

"Le Va" (Samoan Culture)

The belief of a sacred, living bond that connects humans and nature along the physical and spiritual worlds. Disruption of this space disbalances the entire community and environment, proving that isolation is only an illusion.

"Musun" (Indigenous Peoples of Siberia and Northern Russia)

All elements of life possess a conscious soul, or musun, in a completely unified and equal network of humans, nature, and spirits within this ancient belief system.

"Pachamama" and "Madre" (Andean and Amazonian Traditions)

The environment- composed of time, space, and all of creation, was seen as a divine entity that sustained life as long as humans recognized that consciousness is one system and must be protected and cared for as a whole.

"As Above, So Below" (Hellenistic Esotericism/ Hermetic Astrology)

The universe and the human psyche are of the same cloth, locked in a mirror-image unity. Astrology is the study of this universal design.

"Jivas" (Jainism)

All expressions of the universe are souls, or jivas, and are strictly bound together in an interlocking web of mutual support. Practicing non-harm to all is the only logical way to treat oneself.

"All As One" (Theosophical Esoteric Synthesis)

All paths of global belief systems, sciences, and philosophies lead to an undeniable unity of all life.

In conclusion, this visit pays homage to all of the ancient believers and thinkers who came before to ask the same questions many of us are still asking today- who are we and where did we come from? I of course have not listed all the world's historial philosophies, but it is fascinating how the similarities of each belief system are so in sync regardless of how far away these civilizations were from each other!

We may only have to look to our modern view of Quantum Mechanics and Astrophysics for our new united philosophy: Subatomic particles that make up our entire physical reality remain instantly linked across vast distances in what is known as quantum entanglement, and all origins of those particles are forged from the same primordial stellar explosions of the Big Bang. In other words, as the ancients put it, we are all one and never and can never be separate from each other. :)

All information is gathered from Wikipedia and Google Search. Please email any corrections that need addressing.