Documenting our connection to each other: Global Oneness

We’re all in this together—isn’t that one of the things that travel reminds us? And at the same time, we each bring something different to the table.

I’ve just run across Global Oneness, an organization that takes a look at this idea, this paradox. And they’ve made it an interesting idea to consider with their collection of short films and interviews that “explore how the simple notion of oneness can be lived in our increasingly complex world.” They’ve been able to put together about 150 professionally produced films, shot everywhere from South Africa to India to Ecuador.

“We’re traveling the world interviewing people and highlighting organizations that show the diverse ways oneness is expressed in the fields of sustainability, conflict resolution, spirituality, art, agriculture, economics, indigigenous culture, and social justice.”

Personally, I was touched by the film of an Australian aboriginal elder with a glint in his eye when he talks about ‘oursness,’ and his understanding of the world—from the trees to clouds—as a family. But you might be just as intrigued by His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa discussing spiritual consciousness, or the use of African wisdom at a youth program in Los Angeles. Global Oneness is currently in post-production on a group of short films shot in South Africa, so you might want to check back to see them.

There are two ways you can check out the films: online or dvd. They’re offering the dvd on a pay-it-forward system—it’s free, but they hope that you’ll gather five or more friends to watch it together and allow for a discussion, then forward it on to someone else to watch. It can be shipped to you anywhere in the world, it’s code-free so it can be played on any type of dvd player, and the upcoming edition will also have subtitles in French, Spanish, and German.

And those inspired to do more can volunteer to translate subtitles for their favorite films (whether a line at a time or the entire thing). It seems to be an easy process—you’d just follow the instructions on their website.