Another kind of experience of oneness arises from seeing non-self clearly. So many of the thoughts that arise in my awareness have something to do with "me." For example, let's say I walk into a room, and I smell the scent of a mint plant. A thought might arise: "I'll make some tea with that later," or "I forgot to buy the ingredients to make mojitos at the grocery store." These self-referential thoughts also give rise to emotions. These may be complex, such as memories or fears associated with mint, or they may be as simple as "I like that smell." These kinds of thoughts and emotions construct and reinforce a sense of self, a sense that I am a person over here who has certain plans, ideas, and reactions to the mint over there. But what happens when those kinds of thoughts don't arise? Is there still a sense of here and there? Throughout my waking life, my awareness is constantly taking in everything around me. Buddhist teachers often emphasize the importance of being in the moment or paying attention to your moment-by-moment experience. If we are actually attuned to what's happening in each moment, then we can see that whenever we experience anything even if just for a split second before we start imagining we're a self who is experiencing it — our awareness is filled with just the experience itself. When there is no self, there is just the smell of the mint. Our experience is unified, not separated into the smell and the smeller. Our appreciation for these brief moments of oneness whether arrived at via emptiness or non-self — can grow through meditation, contemplation, and other types of practice. Eventually the moments may become more sustained as we come to feel increasingly unified and whole. It's also possible that we can become fully blown open to this realization instantaneously through a sudden Awakening.
— Buddhish: A Guide to the 20 Most Important Buddhist Ideas For the Curious and Skeptical by C. Pierce Salguero
