The ONA Foundation

About the Word

Connection is the physical form of Be-ing whose consciousness knows its own belonging, its connection to all aspects of the cosmos as a whole. The physical form of Be-ing is using all its connections, all of its aspects of wholeness for the highest good of all. The fundamental interconnected and interdependent network of all beings creates Systems of continuance that are eternal. Being, an animated intelligence that decides, preserves and pursues actions that create a positive supportive functioning system of connection for all is the process of this state of Connection.

The basic understanding of life, is that you are alive. The premise here is that there are many kinds of aliveness. Connection is one of the ways in which you carry out being alive. Being alive requires a lesser or greater degree of awareness. This allows you to understand that life is a series of levels or degrees of responding to and with self or the surroundings. This invites you to participate in the Connection of your life.

Connection is more than an urge to be. Inherent in it is the concept of an inner motivation toward the future. The tools with which this principle accomplishes this are seen in the ability to conceive of this future. It invites Mobility (System Four) to take a course of action by instituting a coming together of energies which prolong life and activate it as well.

At A Glance

Importance of Connection

The word, Connection, is used here in its full meaning. Each part of the Universe, including you and me, both live in and through the other parts. No being can live unless the other beings also live. Suppressing the living of others also suppresses your own.

As interactions, Connection is expressed in an inward-manner as directs, and in an outward-flowing manner as unites. Connection is best accomplished when it directs and is directed. This is its Inward-flow. The outward-flow consists of a union which unites two forms which exchange parts /or share and bring to union sets which unfolds completion on this level.

The active intelligence that creates statements of Connection is in the form of I FEEL.

This System works with the lower pelvic area on the body and becomes the entrance and exit point of specific actions that carry out the prime directive to be alive. In relationship to all other Systems, it enlivens the activities and functions of this area: intake of living energy, elimination of waste material and the beginning point of procreation.

Areas of Connection

Your Connection affects (and is affected by) areas of

• Interconnectedness
• Life
• Emotions
• Family
• Beliefs

These items are related. A person with a healthy emotional life is likely to also be on good terms with his or her family; family is a demonstration of interconnectedness on the small scale. Beliefs are pieces of information that are held emotionally, without proof or evidence.

Owning One's Feelings

You are an emotional being…even if you claim not to be! It is possible to be over-emotional (you emotions are out of control) or under-emotional (your emotions are suppressed). Emotions simply are; they do not need to be suppressed to prevent them from controlling you, and you do not need to let them control you to avoid suppressing them.

The healthy way to deal with emotions is to acknowledge them, own them, without giving in to them or suppressing them. Finding this balance can be difficult. In this workshop, you will look at some ways of achieving this balance.

Recognizing One's Parentage

In all ways, but especially in your emotional life, you are a combination of your parents. This combination comes from your biological parents, your adoptive parents if you have them, and other adults who contributed to your upbringing.

Moreover, your parentage includes your grandparents, your great-grandparents, your great-great-grandparents, and on back to the first Humans. It continues further to the earliest life forms on this planet (and any others that may have contributed to your genetic or spiritual makeup).

Many things which your parents presented as facts, manifest in you as emotional issues. That's why areas of religion and patriotism are so emotionally charged, and why many people find themselves conflicted over such issues when their intellects come to conclusions contrary to their beliefs.

So, your parents' beliefs may have been facts to their parents, or their grandparents, or to some long-ago ancestor. Beliefs are essential when knowledge is unavailable; but they require special attention, so that if you have conflicts with newly-available knowledge and it no longer serve you, it can be released.

Recognizing One's Progeny

Understanding that you are the gestalt of those who raised you, helps you to see the significance of those who raise your children, including, particularly, yourself. Recognizing the effect beliefs have had on you, may encourage you to explain the difference to your children, and to encourage them to never cling emotionally to the facts with which you present them. Facts are continually refined by newly-available knowledge, and to pass that awareness on to your children may be the greatest gift (other than life, itself) that you can give them.

The Web of Life

Your ancestors understood the fragile web in which all living beings take part. It was a belief for them, passed down untold generations; they couldn't prove it, but they understood nevertheless that when other beings around them are healthy and happy, so are they. As long as no one took more than was needed, there was always enough game and plants to sustain everyone.

Periodically, in your history, cultures have arisen that rejected all beliefs, without replacing them with actual knowledge. Such cultures have always destroyed themselves by destroying the environment in which they lived. Examples such as the great Guatemalan city of Tikal, or the Anasazi civilization in the American Southwest, provide you with object lessons in what may lie ahead for you if you continue to allow the destruction of natural areas and species to make way for more cities and houses. Earth abides, but you, may find yourself unable to sustain your manner of living because, in fact, you do not sustain it: The Web of Life does. If you break the web of life, we destroy yourself; it's as simple as that. The web will rebuild, but it can do so without you.

I FEEL

The active intelligence that creates statements of Connection is in the form of I FEEL.

I FEEL comes in a variety of forms. I FEEL statements are made which apply to the Emotional Inner Aspect, the Emotional Field, and the System of Connection. Inner Aspect statements refer to primal emotions; Field statements refer to beliefs, and System statements refer to the interconnectedness of all life. Please remember that, any time you begin a sentence with I believe, you are actually making an I FEEL statement.

Example Statements

Emotional Inner Aspect

The third Inner Aspect is the Emotional. This is expressed as the endocrine system of the body. Whenever you feel joy, anger, peace, fear, or any of the other basic emotions, that sensation is actually the result of hormones released into our bloodstreams by the various glands of the endocrine system. For example, all the sensations of fear (knot in stomach, rise in blood pressure, increase in rate of heartbeat and breathing) come from the release of adrenaline into the system by the pancreas.

These things don't happen at random, of course! Just as the second Inner Aspect (the nervous system) interacts with the second Field (the electromagnetic), so does the endocrine system interact with the belief system. You don't usually experience fear unless you believe you are in danger. You don't usually experience peace unless You believe all is well.

While it is possible for other fields to interact, to some degree, with the endocrine system (an intuitive awareness of danger can trigger the fear response), the primary interaction is with the Third Field. Beliefs influence your emotions more than anything else.

Exercise 3-a

Write down four Inner Aspect I FEEL statements (referring to your basic emotions), Mark statements that indicate positive emotions I+. Mark statements that indicate negative emotions with I-.

Unhealthy Inner Aspect

The endocrine system can misbehave, due to direct abuse of it in the form of emotion-numbing or enhancing drugs such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy, or the like. Up to a point, recovery can occur if the use of the drug is discontinued and nutritional methods and exercise are used to flush the toxins from the body.

What if you believe you aren't addicted? If you use heroin, cocaine, or any of their variants, you are. It isn't possible to use these drugs more than once or twice without developing a physical addiction—and many people discover that even one time is too many.

Alcohol is less addictive. Still, if drinking has ever caused you a problem: A car accident, a DUI charge, a fight with a spouse or anyone else, you need to face the fact that you are, at least, a potential addict and should consider Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

The Warning Signs of Alcoholism

When does the social drinker become a problem drinker? Although it is impossible to draw a definitive line, experts agree that an important clue is when someone begins to lose control over his or her actions. For instance, the alcoholic may know that he or she is drinking too much—but is virtually unable to stop. The following quiz, from the National Council on Alcoholism, Inc., will help you recognize if you are suffering from the disease. Answer each question Yes or No.

1. Do you occasionally drink heavily after a disappointment, a quarrel, or when the boss is difficult?

2. When you have trouble or feel under pressure, do you usually drink more heavily?

3. Are you able to handle more liquor than you did when you were first drinking?

4. Did you ever wake up on the 'morning after' and discover that you could not remember part of the evening before, even though your friends say you didn't 'pass out?'

5. When drinking with other people, do you try to have a few extra drinks when others will not know it?

6. Are there certain occasions when you feel uncomfortable if alcohol is not available?

7. When you begin drinking, are you in more of a hurry to get the first drink than you used to be?

8. Do you sometimes feel guilty about drinking?

9. Are you secretly irritated when your family or friends discuss your drinking?

10. Have you recently noticed an increase in the frequency of your memory 'blackouts?'

11. Do you often find that you wish to continue drinking after your friends say enough?

12. Do you usually have a reason for the occasions when you drink heavily?

13. When you are sober, do you ever regret things you have done or said while drinking?

14. Have you tried switching brands or following different plans for controlling your drinking?

15. Have you ever failed to keep the promises you made about cutting down on your drinking?

16. Have you ever tried to control your drinking by making a change in jobs or moving?

17. Do you try to avoid family or close friends while you are drinking?

18. Are you having an increasing number of financial and work problems?

19. Do more people seem to be treating you unfairly without good reason?

20. Do you eat very little or irregularly when you are drinking?

21. Do you sometimes have the 'shakes' in the morning and find that it helps to have a little drink?

22. Have you recently noticed that you cannot drink as much as you once did?

23. Do you sometimes stay drunk for several days at a time?

24. Do you sometimes feel very depressed and wonder whether life is worth living?

25. Sometimes after periods of drinking, do you see or hear things that aren't there?

26. Do you get terribly frightened after you drink heavily?

If you answered Yes to any of the questions, you have some of the symptoms that may indicate alcoholism. "Yes" answers to several of the questions indicate the following stages of alcoholism:

• Questions 1-8 - Early stage.
• Questions 9-21 - Middle stage.
• Questions 22-26 - The beginning of the Final stage.

Warning Signs of Depression

A part of the body not often associated with the endocrine system is the brain. It has recently been shown that, contrary to previous belief, brain cells do reproduce and the speed with which they do so is experienced as optimism (adequate growth) through depression (inadequate growth).

Brain cell growth can be suppressed by physical abnormalities (bipolar disorder), alcohol or drug use, or even lack of sleep or proper nutrition!

Because depression can sneak up on you, it's important to be aware of its warning signs, as reported by the Dare To Live organization:

1. Sudden changes in. behavior

2. Dramatic changes in appetite

3. Sleeping difficulties

4. Poor performance in school

5. Trouble concentrating; agitation; inability to sit still

6. Unexplained lose of energy or excessive fatigue

7. Loss of interest in friends

8. Increased drug/alcohol use

9. Constant feeling of worthlessness or self-hatred

10. Excessive risk taking

11. Preoccupation with death, dying or' suicide

12. Giving away of personal or prized possessions

Energizing your Emotional Inner Aspect

To keep one's endocrine system healthy, simply avoid alcohol and emotion-numbing or enhancing drugs. If it's too late for that, then it is essential that you acknowledge the condition and take steps to alleviate it.

If you are addicted to such a substance, you must seek rehabilitation for it. Many such programs exist, beginning with Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. You cannot remove these substances from your system until you stop ingesting them.

After you have gotten yourself "clean and sober" you can work to remove the toxins remaining in your body from the substances. To do this, follow this daily regimen for six weeks:

• Drink three cups of Detox Tea

• Limit yourself to one small serving of meat

• Eliminate processed carbohydrates from your diet (pasta, potatoes, and especially sugar)

• Eat at least one serving of greens with each meal

• Do at least forty minutes of aerobic exercise (the kind that makes you sweat)

If this sounds extreme to you, consider that addictive substances work by mounting a major attack on your body's structure. This attack cannot be healed without some effort.

Finally, if you have been addicted to an emotion-altering substance and continue to experience depression after detoxification, or have been diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder (or anything similar), you should see your physician to discuss what medical alternatives may be available to you.

Emotional Field

The third Field is the Emotional. Since fields hold information in the form of energy patterns, this field holds beliefs. You can say "I believe…" or, more consistently, "I FEEL that…"

Part of learning to work with System Three is distinguishing between what you know and what you believe. Many people think they "know" something (such as the superiority of one of the political parties or religions, or the guilt or innocence of a celebrity on trial) but, in fact, do not have facts to back them up.

Another difference between facts and beliefs is that, usually, beliefs are inherited while facts are experienced. You don't just believe the Sun rises in the East; you can watch it happen every day. On the other hand, you don't have to actually have seen or measured Original Sin, God, you country being the best place to live, or the superiority of your grandchildren.

Be especially wary of knowledge passed on without evidence or proof. This does not mean you cannot make use of information offered to you without evidence. It just means to keep in mind that, until the information is validated, it is belief, not knowledge.

Do not confuse belief with faith. Unfortunately in trying to define these concepts they have become very muddled and almost interchangeable. Beliefs have not been proven as stated. They maybe true or they may not be. Some people hold to beliefs because they are told that is is so. Faith then by definition is not the same because it requires that the person having faith to come to a knowing through experience that may be proven scientifically or not. Science has the possibility of finding out. Yet when all the answers have to appear physically we already know there is no tangibility to thought or spirit. We only observe the affects of these. Faith then would be

Exercise 3-b

Return to the Field I FEEL statements you made above, and mark beliefs that are provable or likely with "F+" and the ones that are unprovable or unlikely with "F-". Any you feel are neutral you may leave blank.

Unhealthy Field

An unhealthy Emotional Field is easy to spot: It contains beliefs which are not supported by facts, and/or which do not serve you.

One way in which we confuse our Emotional Fields is by developing beliefs on our own, by making unwarranted assumptions about the motivations of others. For example:

Gary hasn't called me all week. He must be mad at me.

Or,

Sheila didn't make the bed this morning. She always makes the bed, so she must be sick. Or, maybe she's pregnant. My God, that must be it! That's why she didn't eat the caviar last night! I'm going to be a father!

While the above quotes contain observations, the conclusions are not based on facts but assumptions. You can build a structure of belief built on belief. If the foundation of this structure is fact, then the beliefs have a greater likelihood of being valid and useful. However, the more layers of unfounded belief and assumption, the less likely that the beliefs at the top will serve you well.

Energizing your Emotional Field

Provable information, evidence, and experience are the keys to keeping only beliefs that serve you. There are many areas of life in which facts are not available, and reasonable beliefs provide guidelines for behavior. Your beliefs work for you if you are happy and functioning; they do not, if you are not.

A particular belief to watch out for is the belief that one is happy, without the actuality of it. Some members of some religions will insist they are happy because they read the Bible, or love Jesus, or follow the Buddha, or something similar; yet, people who observe them do not perceive them as happy. In some of these cases people become calmer knowing that there maybe an answer or purpose. They may not know what it is yet but they are searching by the activities afore mentioned.

False beliefs arise to protect encapsulated patterns in outer fields. The easiest way to find them is to pay attention to the things other people say about you. To quote an old joke, "If one person tells me I'm a horse, I laugh; if twenty people tell me I'm a horse, I might consider looking for a saddle."

Cultivate friends who will tell you honestly what they think you have going for you. No one of them is likely to identify non-serving beliefs that contribute to your problems, but if you detect a pattern it will help you to locate something you thought you "knew" that was simply a non-serving belief, and release it.

Finding Your Connection

Referring to the Systems chart in Workshop Zero, please note that the parabolic plane for System Three is associated with the groin. The Center for System Three is located at the perineum (between the scrotum or vagina, and the anus).

Connection as a System

The Web of Life is more than a metaphor; it's the way things are. The science of ecology has well proven that no creature can exist in a vacuum; it takes in nutrients exuded by other creatures in its environment, while its waste products are nutrients to another.

If one species in an ecosystem becomes unhealthy or extinct, it is more than a tragedy for that one species; it is a sign that the entire ecosystem is weakening. Ecosystems can be damaged by changes in temperature, light, sound, or chemicals present in the air, soil or water. Any change, however small, effects an ecosystem to some degree. In general, cyclical changes bring healthy effects allowing for adaptation to the changes. It's sudden, unexpected changes that can damage an ecosystem beyond its ability to recover.

We assume that a zebra being eaten by a lion feels the same terror you would in that situation. The zebra may be experiencing some form of terror or desire to survive while dying Yet, from the larger viewpoint, were zebra populations not kept in check by lions, zebras would quickly outstrip the land's ability to feed them, and all of them would starve.

A balanced energy flow is all that's required for a healthy relationship. As long as, in the big picture, no individual receives more benefits from the interactions than the others, you have a healthy system. In the lion/zebra example, every zebra lives a happier life because their numbers are kept down; every lion gets to eat and raise a family in return. The balance is struck. It may not be the only possible balance, but it is a balance.

Humans do not live in balance with many of the other creatures they share this earth with. Any species that is hunted to extinction certainly doesn't receive as much as it gives. What is to be done when it is extinct? This imbalance comes right back to upset the Human condition.

Creatures you mistreat do not share a balance with you. Calves raised for veal, and most chickens raised for food, are grossly mistreated in their short, miserable lives. When you eat the flesh of mistreated animals, you take in the energy of that mistreatment—another reason why your collective health has begun to fail, requiring more medicine than ever before just to maintain minimal health. This is not to say these animals can not be eaten, although less of dealing with a lower vibration, it is how they are treated and killed that is the point here.

Exercise 3-c

Write four I FEEL statements referring to how you fit in with your environment. Mark ways in which you fit in with "S+" and the ways in which you do not fit in with "S-". Any you feel are neutral you may leave blank.

Unhealthy System

An unhealthy System of Connection can be characterized by effects such as these:

• Your pets die untimely deaths

• Your houseplants die or don't seem healthy

• You know how to survive but not how to live

• Your pets or plants do not give you pleasure or companionship

• You decided you hate either plants or animals or both.

• Insects bite you more often than they do your companions

What these effects have in common, is that they show a person who is not in tune with his or her environment.

Energizing your System of Mobility

Sleep Outdoors

Sleeping outdoors, or at least keeping the windows open, provide benefits to the body as well as to the soul. Locking ourselves inside is a declaration of independence from nature, not one of interdependence. Yes, there are bugs outside and the air isn't always the ideal temperature. Amazingly, with practice, these issues disappear. And, no matter how polluted it may be out the window, don't imagine the inside air is cleaner, with its higher content of carbon dioxide, vaporized chemicals (including formaldehyde from the lumber used constructing your home), radon, skin mites, bed bugs and germs.

Sterilizing the air you breathe and water you drink isn't the complete answer, either. People who drink nothing but distilled water soon develop heart problems. You need some of the natural impurities in your water and air.

Spend Time in Nature

The safest, purest, way to sleep outdoors and reap the other benefits of communing with the real world, is by making time to spend in nature. Hike; camp; fish. Go stargazing in the country, away from the lights of the city. There is less pollution there and your health will increase. Depression has also been shown to respond to returns to nature. Why do you suppose programs such as Outward Bound are so successful?

Eat Organically

The food we eat is more than calories and molecules; it is the ingesting of a formerly living being. The energy of that being—its prana—is ingested along with the rest of it. Eating tortured animals does not bring health. It is possible to raise animals for food in a way that their lives are happy, and ended Humanely. Such meat is much healthier, and a balance is struck, since the animal wouldn't have been given life originally if not to serve as food.

Similarly, seeds that have been planted with love produce plants that are much healthier to eat than seeds planted by machine and kept bug-free by being drenched in chemicals.

Organic foods and free-range animal meats free of chemicals should be eaten, where practical.

Insist on knowing what foods you buy or eat are Genetically Modified Food (GMO). These foods are proving to be a risk for many peoples health and need to be isolated. Consumers need to be properly informed as to which foods they buy or eat are GMO foods.

Say Grace

And, when you eat, be sure to pause before chewing down, to thank the spirit of the living beings who transitioned into the next world so that you could have your meal. It is right to do, and helps maintain that balance.

Avoid Pesticides and Repellents

On a personal basis, try to minimize use of pesticides, especially in the home or in closed areas where you must work. If you must kill insects or vermin, try to do so in as Humane a manner as possible. Do not take their presence personally. Some people report success by simply asking the beings to go away. If that doesn't work for you, don't become angry or feel guilt. You are as entitled to your space as the being is to its. If it doesn't respect your boundaries, help it to find another life where it can find more happiness.

Waterbirth

If you are expecting a baby, please consider the "new" technique of waterbirth. In this style of birthing, the mother is immersed in a pool so that she doesn't have to fight gravity while giving birth. The newborn is brought to the surface as soon as it's born, having passed from one liquid to another; the entrance into the cool outside air is considerably less traumatic than it would otherwise be.

There is a theory that Humans evolution passed through an "aquatic ape" stage. While there might be another, even wilder explanation for why Humans have the characteristics they do, looking into this theory will provide some background that will aid in understanding more about this subject at a later date.

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