Universal Oneness or Universal Dumbness?

=====I often find myself meandering through MySpace profile after MySpace profile when I am bored. I read the profiles of my friends and then I read the profiles of their friends. When I read profiles, I don't just check out pictures to see how hot someone is or just look to see where they're from or scan the page to find out what colour their aura is or what Friends character they are. I actually read everything they put legitimate time into making known. I read "blogs," a word it is very painful for me to use -- yes, I do take myself that seriously, and I am that pretentious. I read bulletins and try to find pieces of art or literature that the people have created. I try to get an understanding of their beliefs and ideals. After I've done that, I will sometimes research interests or topics that the person made known and of which I had previously no knowledge. One of the most frequently made references by the MySpace user is the goal to "become one with the universe."
=====Granted, many of the people that proclaim the aspiration probably do so within a jocular context. Be they casual Buddhists, care-free fun-loving yuppies, politically-minded New-Agers, or just youths who have recently been exposed to many cultures, the humourous and playful connotations of universal oneness exists within a lot of social groups. Despite the lack of cold, hard sincerity, the concept still strikes an idealistic chord with many people.
=====I can, on some level, understand the need for a connection between the self and the Universe. I have a very significant interest in astronomy and the physical laws that make up the Universe. I study these things independently for no other reason than to be entertained and to understand my habitat in a broader sense. The more I learn and know about the Universe, the more my appetite for information grows. I take the time to read about things like gravity, relativity, time, space/time physics, and molecular science because I know that with each bit of information that I learn I increase my sources of general inspiration. I realize that the more that I know, the more weight the things that I say carry in conversation and debate. I realize that the more that I know, the more I can use that information to communicate new ideas and to stimulate the people that I care about to want to develop new ideas.
=====One of the things I have taken from my interest in astronomy is the understanding of how the Universe is made. To be clearer, I mean I understand what the Universe is made of and how those elements interact to create different cosmic phenomena. Without getting into specifics, the Universe is made of a series of reoccurring materials and laws. The same materials and laws that go into making a star also go into making a planet, a tree, or a human being. In essence, a human being is made of the same "stuff" as a star. As Carl Sagan once said, "[w]e are starstuff that knows it exists." In other words, even though stars are beautiful, giant, burning balls of inanimate gas, we, as an intelligent, sentient species, are made of the same materials and are of one like origin. Furthermore, the source of the materials that created the star is the same for the materials that created you or I. In the beginning of the creation of the Universe, but, in this case, more specifically, our Galaxy, all of the elements, atoms, energies, and laws of the cosmos swirled around and produced everything within it from the same cosmic soup. Since matter can never be created or destroyed, when a star dies and explodes, creating a nebula, whatever is formed from the materials within the nebula are essentially just that star all over again. Those materials will swirl around a center of gravity and can potentially create a whole new solar system. It is likely that that very process resulted in the creation of our own solar system. The materials that made the original star came from the same soup that created the galaxy; and, the same materials that and laws that created our galaxy came from the same soup as those that made every other galaxy. In this way, everything that exists within the Universe is invariably and eternally connected. Some people claim that the material world, including everything in the physical Universe, is an illusion; so, when they say "one with the Universe," they mean spiritually.
=====Spiritual oneness is a concept that is difficult for me to understand. I suppose greater understanding of the concept could be reached if a universal definition of the "spirit" could be established. Unfortunately, many different people will have many different ideas as to what the "spirit" is. For the sake of this piece, we will use the definition that is the most general -- "The part of a human being associated with the mind, will, and feelings" (The American Heritage Dictionary, definition 6.a.). I will alter that slightly and say that it doesn't just apply to human beings when one speaks of spiritual universal oneness. So, the spirit is the part of a being that makes up, or is comprised of, the intellect, drive, and emotion of that being. Some people might use the wording "core being" to define the same principal. In any event, the spirit, for the sake of this discussion, is essentially the consciousness of an entity. So, to attain spiritual universal oneness is to blend ones own consciousness with the consciousness of everything else in the universe. Once it is defined, spiritual universal oneness becomes a terrifying concept for me to comprehend. Forgetting, momentarily, that, despite what materials any object in the Universe is made of, only living creatures can have a consciousness -- thus greatly reducing the scope of such a "universal" oneness -- why would combining an individual's consciousness with that of another ever be a good thing?
=====Individuality is wholly defined by a person's unique perception and understanding. A being's consciousness is the corner stone to building unique insights and perceptions. An attempt to shed such individual perception or consciousness is an attempt to establish conformity. Conformity is essentially just mass likeness or sameness. If one shares the same consciousness with many other beings, then one is conforming to an established singularity. Concepts such as this can be found through-out history, and they are rarely good ideas. Specific examples are Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, Communist China, Puritan New England, or any fundamentalist religious or political community. Establishment of conformity, or a single consciousness amongst a community, is necessary for the control and command of individuals. Individuals are dangerous to the function of mass control. Individuals have incredible intellectual, creative, and rebellious powers. Without individuality, there is no art, there is no rebellion, and there is no expression.
=====Human beings have the need to express themselves, because they understand that each person is comprised of their own individual perceptions and insights. By painting a picture, building a sculpture, or writing words on a page, a being invites everyone that sees the piece to take a glimpse into their own personal Universe. Each person looks at the Universe and comprehends that information in completely unique ways. In this way, on planet Earth alone, the existence of individuality makes it possible for there to be about six billion Universes -- six billion new worlds to explore and understand; six billion different takes on art and literature; six billion versions of one song. Without expression, everything we love as a species would immediately lose all meaning and passion. Without expression, life itself would serve no purpose.
=====Even if one argued that this singular universal consciousness would be comprised of all the different perceptions, they are losing sight of some inarguable facts. People, as a result of their individuality, can disagree. If two people have conflicting viewpoints, no matter how much empathy or understanding one has for the other person's argument, they can never truly understand one another completely and would negate one another in this singular consciousness. For example, you cannot think that cold-blooded murder is both right and wrong. Making such self-defeating arguments would be meaningless, and, regardless, there would be no reason to express the argument because there would be no reason for anyone to listen -- everything would already be of one mind.
=====Losing all expression, art, perception, and individuality is an extremely destructive and thoughtless goal. I cannot understand wanting such an existence for one's self.
=====If your goal is to be literally and physically one with the universe, well then, congratulations; your goal was accomplished at your conception -- actually, it was accomplished at the conception of the Universe itself. If your goal is to have one consciousness with every other consciousness in the Universe, well then, sorry; I pity those with such little regard for life, art, and individuality.