def: The belief that all is not in fact one thing.
It’s the idea that there is a “me” and then there is “everything else,” that there is “good” and then there is “bad,” that there is “heaven” and then there is “earth,” “left” and “right,” “tree” and “not tree,” etc. etc.
When I am believing that something is this and not that, I am experiencing separation.
Separation is not real. It’s an imaginary construct that makes it possible to play in the illusion of existence. When it’s fun, it’s great, but if it’s not and I believe it, it can be the beginning of great suffering.
It’s an understandable mistake. It seems obvious that things are separate - until I get quiet and search honestly for the definite boundary between anything and anything else, until I ask myself how I can know anything about one thing without the rest of everything, how I can know anything about a “you” or a “bird” or a “grain of sand” (or a “me”) without the idea of a “me,” or how I can know a “me” without all of those things.
It’s a story, projected. All these things are me and I am all these things. The only problem I’ve ever had is not recognizing this.
When I see that separation is purely imaginary, I can make choices about what I will believe and when. I can enjoy the illusion and then, when it stops being enjoyable, I can return to the truth that all is one.