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 By Stephen Dinan, founder and CEO of The Shift Network
As a growing community, The Shift Network is committed to empowering a global shift by inspiring all of us to transform our consciousness and to take inspired action.
This week in The Catalyst we are focused on three broad areas: shamanism, International Forgiveness Day and the atomic bomb commemorations.
These three areas exemplify the convergence of approaches to our rapidly changing world — from individual transformation through ancient wisdom traditions; to healing wounds on a personal and collective level; to preventing the unleashing of massive destruction through our new-found technologies.
With this in mind, we are offering the Shamanism Global Summit: Practical Wisdom to Access Guidance, Healing & Power for Sacred Living (August 4–6, 2015). Click here to register free.
After centuries of misunderstanding, shamanism is taking its rightful place as one of the great spiritual systems for awakening, healing and transforming our lives. This resurgence is coming at a critical crossroads in time when so many are fearful for our future and daunted by environmental, economic and geopolitical crises.
In this edition of The Catalyst, we have exceptional articles from Shamanism Global Summit participants don Oscar Miro-Quesada, Sandra Ingerman and Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq, along with an impressive video from Alberto Villoldo.
To celebrate the International Forgiveness Day today, we are sharing a powerful forgiveness practice from our beloved faculty Miranda Macpherson (See Featured Articles). Also, you can participate in a wave of forgiveness taking place around the world at 2:00 pm in each time zone. (See Movement News.)
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs, we have moving member profiles from Japanese-American Fumi Johns Stewart and also Su Zen. They both offer ways you can participate in global commemoration events.
The Summer of Peace is taking peace to new inspiring levels, bridging the personal and planetary. On Tuesday, August 4 in the Summer of Peace, Chief Phil Lane, Jr. will explore "Healing the Hurts: Indian Boarding Schools in North America" (see Featured Articles). Also this week we are promoting livestream broadcasts of atomic bomb events at Hiroshima and Los Alamos, the birthplace of the atomic bomb (August 5, 6 & 9). We also are delighted to help broadcast the Campaign Nonviolence National Conference (Aug. 6-9). One of the key speakers is Rev. James Lawson, the person Martin Luther King, Jr. asked to be the lead nonviolence trainer for the civil rights movement (see Member Profile).
We also are sharing free recent special sessions on forgiveness by Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D. and Diane Cirincione, Ph.D. and Colin Tipping; and, special guided meditations by Luisah Teish and Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati (See Featured Media).
We have two actions of the week — one on forgiveness you can apply in your daily life; and, another on preventing the use of atomic bombs by supporting the US-Iran nuclear deal that is before the U.S. Congress.
Our Shift Philanthropy is featuring the Black Hills Unity Concert. Please join us in supporting our Indigenous brothers and sisters in this inspiring event. Also, our Featured Artist is Rainer Scheurenbrand.
Please check out the special cartoon feature. We are experimenting with sharing enlightening humor, so please let us know what you think. (See Featured Media)
Finally, for those in California, there is a wonderful event: the River of Bliss — an adult summer camp for soulful, conscious play (and a bit of river rafting!) August 28–31. (See Movement News)
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 Qasi-kawsay: A Path of Peaceful Living
By don Oscar Miro-Quesada
Peace, tranquility, ease, calm, repose, serenity, stillness, equanimity, bliss, are but a few of the words used to describe what the Inka civilization of Peru experienced as Qasi-kawsay, or ‘peace’ in the Quechua language of the Andes, is understood as a lived experience, an emergent process, intrinsic to human nature, a surrendered flow into being at one with the dance of creation, a merging with the ebb and flow of life itself. Never static, it is encountered, like a bestowal of grace it is a ’touching into’ the pause between activity and rest . . . requiring us to remain experientially connected to the ever changing liminal dreaming between sky and earth, self and other, heart and mind, soul and body
. . . [read more]
 Shamanism: An Ancient Universal Spiritual Practice
By Sandra Ingerman
Although I felt support from my family and teachers when I was growing up, I felt like I never received an “operating manual” for how to live in the ordinary world. As a child I had a deep spiritual life and was comfortable in the spiritual realms. But while I had spiritual experiences, I had no path to follow.
That is why when I was introduced to the practice of shamanic journeying in 1980, I received a great gift. I met my helping spirit, a guardian spirit who over the years answered my questions about how to bring joy, meaning, and health into my life. Shamanism provided me with a path and structure to follow to deepen my spiritual path. I found the empowerment I needed by engaging in the practice of shamanism as a way of life . . . [read more]
 Melting the Ice in the Heart of Man: Shamanism from the Far North
By Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq
The work of the shaman is to guide you on your inner path. The shaman is there to familiarize you with yourself and support you in recognizing your beauty so that you can know yourself and love yourself. The shaman is there to guide you to a new level of reality, a new consciousness, through teachings, storytelling, and most importantly, through ceremonies. My Grandmother said that the ceremonies are the key. That is the work of a true shaman . . . [read more]
 Forgiveness Practice
By Miranda Macpherson
Forgiveness is potent medicine that profoundly liberates us from the heartbreaks of the past and re-establishes awareness of self and other as fundamentally innocent. Forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation — about getting another to agree with our view. Forgiveness is a vehicle of transmutation that uses relational challenges as a way to access the deeper truth of who we are. It is a means of freeing ourselves from our own hurts and fixed perceptions, from which we stand a much greater chance of coming into rightful relationship with one another . . . [read more]
 What if the Holocaust had never ended?
By Chief Phil Lane Jr.
Beloved Friends and Relatives,
What if the Holocaust had never ended?
What if, no liberating armies invaded the territory stormed over by a draconian State? No compassionate throng broke down the doors to dungeons to free those imprisoned within? No collective outcry of humanity arose as stories of the State’s abuses were recounted? And no court of World Opinion seized the State’s leaders and held them in judgement as their misdeeds were chronicled? What if none of this happened? . . . [read more]
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 "A Totally Moral Man:" The Life of Nonviolent Organizer Rev. James Lawson
By Peter Dreier, Truthout | Book Excerpt (Published in Truth-out.org; Photo: Melissa Carr / Flickr)
In 2005, Vanderbilt University in Nashville honored Rev. James Lawson with its Distinguished Alumnus award and invited him to teach as a distinguished visiting professor the next academic year. "No other alumnus has ever contributed so much to issues of national and international justice and peace, and the promotion of a nonviolent world view," said Chancellor Gordon Gee in presenting the 77-year old Lawson with the award at the Vanderbilt Alumni Association's annual banquet, 45 years after the university had expelled him for leading lunch-counter sit-ins and other civil rights protests . . . [read more]
 Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki — 70th Anniversary
By Fumi Johns Stewart
Why did my fatherland drop the atomic bomb on my motherland? As a bi-cultural child growing up in post war Japan my heart was often troubled. The incidents of August 6 in Hiroshima and August 9 in Nagasaki are forever carved in my heart as well as the hearts of humanity. It set into motion an immense explosive force which has changed the world forever . . . [read more]
 Ring Bells for Peace & World Without War for the 70th Anniversary of the Hiroshima Bombing
By Su Zen
Last year, while visiting a museum in South Korea, I came upon an ancient bell. The label read “The sound of the chimes symbolizes the sound of truth, which can enlighten all sentient beings” — from the 10th century Goryeo Dynasty. Moved by these words, I felt a deeper significance of ringing bells . . . [read more]
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International Forgiveness Day — Sunday, August 2, 2015
The Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance, founding organization of International Forgiveness Day, and partner organizations are celebrating the 19th Annual International Forgiveness Day. There are two major events where you can participate:
Celebrate the International Forgiveness Day by joining the Worldwide Wave of Forgiveness by taking 2 minutes 2 forgive at 2:00 pm on Sunday August 2. Created by Momentofcalm.org, it is estimated that approximately two million people will participate in the Wave of Forgiveness. To learn more, click here.
The 19th Annual International Forgiveness Day Awards Ceremony will take place on Sunday August 2, 2015 at 7:00 pm at the Unity Marin in Novato, California. Award recipients include: Rev. Sheila Gautreaux, Amikaeyla Gaston and Linda Woods. To learn more how you can watch the livestream broadcast or attend in person, click here.
Start Planning for the International Day of Peace — September 21, 2015. There are many initiatives offering ways that you and your family, school and/or business can participate in this global celebration of peace:
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Find or create an event for the International Day of Peace – September 21 (click here)
- Have your city become an International City of Peace (click here)
- Plant a Peace Pole (click here)
- Join BeThePeace global synchronized meditations – September 19 & 21 (click here)
- Play in the Compassion Games – Survival of the Kindest – September 11–21 (click here)
- Join 11 Days of Global Unity – September 11–21 (click here)
- Dance for peace with Earthdance – September 19, 20 & 21 (click here)
- Playing for Change Day – September 21 (click here)
- Watch PeaceDayTV – (click here)
Snatam Kaur and Friends – West Coast Tour – August 2015 — Our friends at BrightStar Events are producing Snatam Kaur’s West Coast tour. Concert, chantfest, musical group meditation, a yoga class in melody... how best to describe a live performance by Snatam Kaur and her band? It’s all of these things and more. Crystalline and radiant, Snatam’s voice is redolent of the simple yet powerful truth of the heart. Vancouver, BC, Seattle, Portland, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Encinitas and Los Angeles. To learn more, click here.
 New Film screenings of Awake: The Life of Yogananda are now being shown in Australia and United States! You also can bring Awake to your yoga studio or community. To find a showing near you or to arrange for a screening, click here.
(The filmmakers were interviewed in the Summer of Peace, the recording is available for free.)
Summer of Peace – ARTE – July 18 to August 23, 2015 — European-based ARTE opens its antenna to peace movements and icons of the twentieth century with films that make us dream of a better world, concerts and documentaries. Be happy this summer. Peacefully yours. To learn more, click here. (You may need to translate the page in your web browser.)
Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 70th Anniversary of the the atomic bomb – August 6 & 9. Join the World Peace Prayer Society for a FREE Global Webcast and Web Conference from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To learn more, click here.
Ring Bells for Peace & World without War for the 70th Anniversary of the Hiroshima Bombing: individuals, homes, places of worship and community centers around the world are invited to ring bells to commemorate the Hiroshima bombing. Please post your event on the RiingBells4Peace Facebook Page or e-mail them.
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Auckland, New Zealand – Thursday, August 6 at 11:15am NZST
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Sydney, Australia – Thursday, August 6 at 9:15am AEST
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Hiroshima – Thursday, August 6, at 8:15am JST (time of bombing in 1945)
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Beijing, China – Thursday, August 6 at 7:15am CST
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Hanoi, Vietnam – Thursday, August 6 at 6:15am ICT
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New Delhi, India – Thursday, August 6 at 4:45am IST
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Moscow, Russia – Thursday, August 6 at 2:15am MSK
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Jerusalem, Israel – Thursday, August 6 at 2:15am IDT
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Cape Town, South Africa – Thursday, August 6 at 1:15am SAST
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Berlin, Germany – Thursday, August 6 at 1:15am CEST
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London – Thursday, August 6 at 12:15am BST
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Rio de Janeiro – Wednesday, August 5 at 8:15pm BRT
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Ottowa, Canada – Wednesday, August 5 at 7:15pm EDT
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New York, USA – Wednesday, August 5 at 7:15pm EDT
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San Jose, Costa Rica – Wednesday, August 5 at 5:15pm CST
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San Francisco, California, USA – Wednesday, August 5 at 4:15pm PDT
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Honolulu, Hawaii, USA – Wednesday, August 5 at 1:15pm HAST
To find the time of your location go to: www.thetimezoneconverter.com
Campaign Nonviolence National Conference – Santa Fe, New Mexico – August 6–9, 2015. Presentations, nonviolence workshop, and vigils at Los Alamos on the 70th anniversary of the nuclear age. Featured speakers include James Lawson, Erica Chenoweth, Roshi Joan Halifax, John Dear, Kathy Kelly, Lennox Yearwood, Jr, Kit Evans-Ford, Medea Benjamin, and Ken Butigan. To learn more, click here.
Peace Week Milwaukee – Raising the Voice of Peace – August 16–23, 2015. Designated the week of August 16–23, 2015, Peace Week Milwaukee is an opportunity for artists, activists, non-profits, faith groups, local businesses and other diverse organizations and individuals in our community who work so hard year-round for community action and social justice to highlight their efforts while raising a united voice of Peace. To learn more, click here.
River of Bliss! August 28–31, 2015 — A transformative adult summer camp “Restival" a 4 day/3 night retreat on the American river near Tahoe — just 2 hours from the San Francisco Bay Area in the historic Sierra Foothills. Unplug, reconnect with nature and community. Offers catered meals, participatory experiential activities like yoga, conscious dance, meditation, playshops, rafting (optional) and live kirtan. Register at: click here.
Twin Oaks Communities Conference – September 4–7, 2015 – Labor Day Weekend. If you want to live according to the values of cooperation, sustainability, and equality this conference is for you. The conference focuses on Intentional Communities, including models such as Ecovillages, Cohousing, and Housing Cooperatives, and the larger cooperative movement, including all kinds of cooperative and collective organizations. To learn more, click here.
 3rd Annual Peace in the Park – San Francisco – Free Event, Saturday, September 19, 2015 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm at Golden Gate Park, SF — Join over 5,000 people in a rejuvenating day of peaceful activities for all ages and backgrounds — alcohol-free and vegetarian refreshments. To learn more, click here.
 The Parliament of the World's Religions – Salt Lake City this October 15–19. The world’s premier interfaith event is coming back to the United States bringing 10,000 people together from 80 nations and 50 faith traditions to commit to the challenges of war, violence and hate speech, climate change, and income inequity. Five nobel peace laureates led by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, an Inaugural Women's Assembly for Global Advancement, religious scholars, faith leaders, and the heart of grassroots will round out 5 days of programming to mobilize the global interfaith movement. The Shift Network can take advantage of advance registration and reclaim the heart of our humanity in 2015 by clicking here.
Kia Miller and Tommy Rosen are so excited to announce the 2015 Recovery 2.0 Thanksgiving Retreat to Costa Rica from November 19–26, 2015. They will be back at Blue Spirit in Nosara for what is always a powerful and blissful Recovery 2.0 experience. The retreat always sells out. If this calls to you, apply today to secure your space.
Praxis Peace Institute: Cuba — November 29 – December 6, 2015 – Only 1 Room Left — Praxis Peace Institute, in conjunction with Cuba Educational Travel has prepared a spectacular program for our travelers. Lecture and Discussions with Cuban economists, historians, and journalists at Havana University and the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy. Visit agricultural cooperatives, organicfarms, and meet locals in their homes, and much more. Details and to Register: click here.
 Collective Coherence: Co-Creating a New World – December 2–6, 2015 – Tao Wellness Center, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico —
HeartMath and Global Coherence Initiative Special Event: Come join us for a transformative experience in Collective Coherence: Co-Creating a New World, our fourth annual Mexico event. We will practice tools for Collective Coherence and learn how this accelerates our personal unfoldment into higher potentials. Energetic connectivity will be explored and why it is effective for co-creating a new world. Be sure to use code "Mexico1" when you register to receive the Early Registration discount rate. To learn more, click here.
 World Peace Library – Free Resource — Be sure to take advantage of the World Peace Library, a wide-ranging resource on peace newly compiled by the Shift Network: It contains more than 300 inspiring talks and mini-workshops from individuals such as Archbishop Tutu, Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, Jane Goodall, Deepak Chopra, James O'Dea, Karen Armstrong, Chief Phil Lane and many more. With neuroscientists and lamas, faith-based activists and political leaders, this Library offers something for all in their peacebuilding efforts. The Shift Network has made the World Peace Library a free resource for all and encourages its use to promote peace in your families, schools, and wider community.
1 Billion Acts of Peace — a global community of everyday people performing thoughtful actions that contribute to world peace. The Shift Network is delighted to join Peacejam Foundation, Google, Wells Fargo, Hill+Knowlton Strategies and many others have come together to create the "One Billion Acts of Peace" Campaign — an international global citizens' movement designed to tackle the most important problems facing our planet. To learn more, click here.
If you have an announcement to share, please write: editor@theshiftnetwork.com.
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2015
Catalyst: (#15, 8/2) (#14, 7/19) (#13, 7/5) (#12, 6/20) (#11, 6/7) (#10, 5/24) (#9, 5/10) (#8, 4/26) (#7, 4/5) (#6, 3/21) (#5, 3/15) (#4, 2/22) (#3, 2/8) (#2, 1/25) (#1, 1/11)
2014
Catalyst: (#26, 12/28) (#25, 12/14) (#24, 11/30) (#23, 11/16) (#22, 11/1) (#21, 10/19) (#20, 10/5) (#19, 9/21) (#18, 9/14) (#17, 9/01) (#16, 8/17) (#15, 8/3) (#14, 7/20) (#13, 7/4) (#12, 6/15) (#11, 6/1) (#10, 5/18) (#9, 5/4) (#8, 4/20) (#7, 4/6) (#6, 3/23) (#5, 3/9) (#4, 2/22) (#3, 2/8) (#2, 1/26) (#1, 1/12)
2013 Catalyst: (#22, 12/14) (#21, 11/30) (#20, 11/16) (#19, 11/3) (#18, 10/20) (#17, 10/6) (#16, 9/21) (#15, 9/8) (#14, 8/25) (#13, 8/4) (#12, 7/21), (#11, 7/7), (#10, 6/16) (#9, 6/2) (#8, 5/12) (#7, 4/28) (#6, 4/14) (#5, 3/24) (#4, 2/24) (#3, 2/9) (#2, 1/26) (#1, 1/13)
Birth 2012 Catalyst: (#15, 12/9) (#14, 12/1) (#13, 11/22) (#12, 11/10) (#11, 11/3) (#10, 10/20) (#9, 10/6) (#8, 9/16) (#7, 9/8) (#6, 8/25) (#5, 8/16) (#4, 8/4) (#3, 7/28) (#2, 7/21) (#1, 7/14)
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1 .Think of someone you want or need to forgive. Read Miranda Macpherson’s “Forgiveness Practice” and walk through the steps at a pace authentic for you. (See Featured Articles)
2. Support the US-Iran nuclear deal currently before the US Congress. To learn more, go to the Friends Committee on National Legislation – click here.
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 Writing to Heal Your Shadow:
The Power of Uncovering Your Hidden Truths —
A Free Virtual Event With Bestselling Author and Teacher Mark Matousek.
Learn how to uncover the many gifts hidden in the shadow side of your psyche by transforming shame and embracing the beautiful complexity of your humanity.
August 5, 2015 at 5:30 pm Pacific
 Advanced Teachings for Truly Loving Yourself
Deepening Unconditional Love & Self-Worth Through Inner Bonding —
A Free Virtual Event Featuring Renowned
Psychologist Margaret Paul.
Learn how to go beyond platitudes and consoling words into deep, abiding, unconditional love for yourself — including the parts you feel ashamed of.
August 6, 2015 at 5:30 pm Pacific
 The Way of the Feminine Mystic
Embodying Ecstasy & Blessing the World —
A 7-week Course Featuring Interspiritual Teacher and Mystic-Scholar Mirabai Starr.
A rare opportunity to explore the feminine spiritual path — and open to a profound alchemy of body, mind and soul that leads you to embrace the world in a sacred, whole and celebratory way.
New Live Training Starts Wednesday,
August 12, 2015
More Upcoming Events: (all subject to change)
August
• Global Shamanism Summit
• Bill Bauman 7-week course
• Mark Silver 7-week course
• Mingtong Gu 7-week course
• Oscar Miro-Quesada 8-month intensive
• Margaret Paul 9-month intensive
• Mark Matousek 9-month intensive
September
• Subtle Activism Summit
• 11 Days of Global Unity
• Hakomi Global Summit
• Thomas Huebl 7-week course
• David Nicol 7-week course
• Alison Armstrong 8-week course
• Miranda Macpherson 10-week course
• Enneagram 5-month intensive
• Lisa Schrader 9-month intensive
October
• Enlightened Business Summit
• Andrew Harvey 7-week course
• Sally Kempton 7-week course
• Hakomi 12-week course
• Tim Kelley 6-month intensive
• Mirabai Starr 7-month intensive |
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Black Hills Unity Concert — The Shift Network is delighted to support the Black Hills Unity Concert, a three-day drug-, alcohol- and admission-free event that utilizes the instrument of music to unite Lakota/Nakota/Dakota peoples (the Pte Oyate) in the name of our sacred sites and our Mother Earth. We encourage you to join us in standing with our Indigenous brothers and sisters. To learn more, click here. |
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The World Peace Prayer Society (WPPS) — The universal message of peace, May Peace Prevail On Earth, was authored by the late Masahisa Goi, founder of The World Peace Prayer Society. Over the past five decades, WPPS has spread this message of peace through hundreds of thousands of Peace Poles; numerous World Peace Prayer and Flag Ceremonies and annual commemoration events for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs. To learn more, click here.
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Rainer Scheurenbrand
By Eleanor Tara
I recently had the immense joy of discovering the music of Rainer Scheurenbrand. Upon hearing each song, I found myself proclaiming it "the most beautiful song I have ever heard." Each one features hauntingly gorgeous chord progressions, mind-bending key changes, brilliant rhythmic rearrangements, and touchingly heartfelt lyrics. A classical music virtuoso, Rainer studied and performed at prestigious venues around the world, receiving the influence of Celtic folk, Indian and Brazilian music along the way, as well as working with shamans and healers from different traditions. Through these experiences he has birthed an entirely unique style of heart-opening world music that blends together a very unlikely mix of cultural flavors to create remarkably exquisite results. Rainer's albums will take you on an unforgettable healing journey by breaking your heart open with the love and beauty carried with every note. Listen to both of his creations by clicking here.
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The Implications of Oneness: An Imperfect Analogy
