The One Truth

The One Truth Plot Summary

Introduction

I'll never forget the moment I first experienced true separation. I was eight years old, standing alone on the playground after moving to a new school. No one knew me, and in that moment, I felt completely disconnected from everything and everyone around me. The feeling was overwhelming—a heaviness in my chest and a fog in my mind that made even simple thoughts difficult to grasp. Looking back now, I recognize that experience as my first encounter with what many call a "low state of mind," that feeling of being cut off from others and even from yourself. Most of us spend our lives oscillating between feelings of connection and disconnection, between clarity and confusion, between love and fear. We search for answers in external circumstances—blaming traffic for our bad mood, social media for our insecurities, or other people for our struggles. But what if the root of all our mental and emotional challenges isn't found in these external factors at all? What if the answer to our anxiety, depression, self-doubt, and relationship problems lies in understanding a single, powerful truth about the nature of our consciousness and our connection to everything around us? This book unveils that one truth that explains everything and provides practical tools to transform your mind, unlock your potential, and heal your soul from the inside out.

Chapter 1: The Battle for Your Mind: Understanding States of Consciousness

The traffic was barely moving, and Michael could feel his blood pressure rising with each passing minute. He was going to be late for an important meeting, and the thought of disappointing his team made his stomach churn. As his grip tightened on the steering wheel, his mind raced with anxious thoughts. But then something strange happened. His phone buzzed with a text from his daughter—a silly photo that made him laugh out loud. Suddenly, the traffic didn't bother him anymore. He turned on some music and actually enjoyed the extra time to himself. The meeting was still important, but somehow it didn't feel like life or death anymore. The next day, Michael found himself in similar traffic. This time, he immediately felt frustrated and angry. He honked at other drivers and cursed under his breath. The same circumstance—traffic—created completely different experiences for him on two consecutive days. Why? "Is it the traffic?" asks the author. The answer is a resounding no. If traffic were truly the cause of our feelings, it would affect us the same way every time. The same goes for rejection, criticism, or any external circumstance. The author explains that what actually determines our experience is our state of mind—whether it's high or low. A low state of mind is characterized by cluttered thoughts, fear, anxiety, worry, insecurity, and doubt. A high state of mind features clarity, focus, belief, and confidence. Think of two circles—one filled with chaotic scribbles representing cluttered thought, the other mostly empty with just a few clear lines representing clarity. Which mind would perform better? The answer is intuitive: the one with clarity. When we're in a low state of mind, we experience what the author calls "revved-up thinking." We search frantically for answers, convinced something is wrong with us. This leads to more thinking, more clutter, and an even lower state of mind—like a downward spiral. A baseball player who goes hitless for a few games starts questioning his swing technique, creating anxiety that only makes his slump worse. The key insight is recognizing that our states of mind naturally ebb and flow like a roller coaster. When we feel like we're crashing downward, our instinct is to jump off and escape through distractions, substances, or other temporary relief. Instead, the author teaches us to stay on the roller coaster, understanding that this is simply the natural human experience, not something broken that needs fixing. With this awareness, our states of mind become less extreme over time, and we develop the capacity to maintain more consistent clarity and peace regardless of external circumstances.

Chapter 2: The Five D's: How Negative Thoughts Sabotage Your Potential

Emma had been preparing for her presentation for weeks. As a rising executive at her company, this was her chance to shine in front of the board. But as she walked toward the conference room, a thought popped into her head: "What if they see through you? You don't really know what you're talking about." Her confident stride faltered. By the time she reached the podium, her mind was racing with more negative thoughts: "They're judging you. You're going to mess up. Your career is over." The presentation was a disaster—she stumbled over words, lost her place several times, and couldn't answer questions clearly. Walking back to her office, Emma couldn't understand what had happened. She knew her material cold. What went wrong? What Emma experienced was the destructive power of what the author calls "the Five D's"—a systematic process negative thoughts use to sabotage our potential. It begins with Doubt. "Can you really do this?" "Are you qualified enough?" These questions create uncertainty and weaken our confidence. The second D is Distortion—when negative thoughts alter the truth about who we are and what we're capable of. These aren't just random negative thoughts; they're lies that attack our identity, capabilities, and worth. The problem is that these thoughts come in so quickly that we think they're coming from us. We believe them, reinforce them, and they become embedded in our consciousness. This leads to the third D: Discouragement. After doubt and distortion overpower our mind, we become discouraged and lose hope. "We don't give up because life is hard," the author explains. "We give up because we get discouraged." We start believing we can't win, won't win, and don't deserve to win. The fourth D is Distraction. When we're feeling discouraged, we seek relief from our negative feelings by focusing on things that don't matter. We scroll through social media, binge-watch shows, or busy ourselves with unimportant tasks instead of addressing what truly matters in our lives. Finally, we experience Division—feeling separated from ourselves, others, and our spiritual nature. The author points out that the Greek root of the word "anxiety" means "to divide, to separate." When we feel anxious, we feel divided, and when we feel divided, we feel anxious. These Five D's can lead to a sixth D—Defeat. The author explains that the battle for our mind is real, and our opponent's weapon of choice is not sticks or stones but thoughts that question our value, purpose, capabilities, and worth. The good news is that understanding this battle is the first step to winning it. Emma's struggle wasn't unique to her—it's the universal human experience of negative thoughts trying to undermine our true potential. By recognizing these patterns, we can develop strategies to counter them and reclaim the power of our minds.

Chapter 3: From Separation to Oneness: The Root of Mental Health

Jason sat across from me, his eyes downcast. "I don't know what's wrong with me," he confessed. "I have everything I could want—great job, beautiful family, nice home—but I feel empty inside, like I'm disconnected from everything." As we talked, it became clear that Jason was experiencing what countless people face: a profound sense of separation despite external success. He described feeling like an impostor at work, disconnected from his spouse even when they were together, and unable to feel true joy even during happy moments. "It's like there's a glass wall between me and the rest of the world," he said. What Jason was describing is at the heart of what the author calls "the One Truth"—that our state of mind, thoughts, words, actions, and overall experience are ultimately influenced by oneness and separateness. When we feel connected to others, ourselves, and something greater than ourselves, we experience a high state of mind characterized by clarity, confidence, and love. When we feel separate, we experience a low state of mind filled with fear, anxiety, and negative thoughts. The author explains that as we move from oneness to separateness, we move from love to fear, from a high state to a low state, and from positive to negative. This is why mental health disorders are always associated with feelings of isolation, fear, separation, and anxiety—never with too many positive thoughts. The more a person feels separate, the more they separate themselves from life and relationships, creating a downward spiral. This understanding transforms how we view common struggles. Take narcissism, for example. The author explains that a narcissist feels fundamentally separate and isolated, so they focus solely on protecting their separate self, lacking empathy for others. Their brain actually creates separation at the neurological level in response to trauma. The answer isn't medication alone, but helping them return to a sense of oneness with others. The same principle applies to teams, couples, and families. A connected team outperforms a group of talented but separate individuals because oneness brings power, unity, and strength. A married couple experiencing conflict is feeling like they're on two separate teams rather than one. The solution in all these cases is the same—moving from separateness back to oneness. What makes this insight so powerful is its universal application. Whether we're talking about racism, social media's negative effects, perfectionism, or pressure in performance situations, the root cause is always the same—a feeling of separation rather than oneness. Understanding this gives us a new lens through which to view virtually every aspect of human experience, and points us toward solutions that heal the fundamental disconnection at the heart of our struggles.

Chapter 4: The Brain as an Antenna: Tuning into Higher Frequencies

During a professional football game, quarterback Tom was struggling mightily. He'd thrown two interceptions, and his team was down by 17 points. As he sat on the bench, his mind raced with negative thoughts: "I'm letting everyone down. Maybe I'm not cut out for this level. The fans are going to hate me." His coaches noticed his slumped shoulders and distant gaze. Rather than bombarding him with technical adjustments, the mental performance coach asked him a simple question: "What station are you tuned into right now?" Tom looked confused, then understanding dawned. "The negative one," he admitted. The coach nodded and said, "You can change the station anytime." Tom closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and mentally pictured turning a dial from "fear" to "love of the game." When he returned to the field, something had shifted. He wasn't a different player technically, but he was receiving a different frequency of thoughts. He led his team to a comeback victory. This story illustrates one of the author's most revolutionary ideas: the brain is an antenna. Just as a radio receives signals from various stations broadcasting simultaneously, our brain tunes into positive or negative frequencies. The thoughts we experience aren't created by our brain—they're received by it. This explains why no scientist has ever found a thought inside a brain. Our brain doesn't create consciousness; it's the hardware that allows us to experience consciousness in this reality. The author theorizes that negative thoughts operate at a lower frequency, while positive thoughts operate at a higher frequency. When we tune into negative thoughts like fear, worry, doubt, or unworthiness, these thoughts negatively affect our antenna, causing it to tune into and receive more negative thoughts. Conversely, when we tune into positive thoughts like love, hope, joy, and faith, we strengthen our antenna to receive more positive thoughts. This explains why depression often leads to more negative thoughts, creating a downward spiral. It also explains why certain foods, drugs, excessive sugar, and alcohol can affect our mental health—they damage the brain's antenna, causing it to tune into lower-frequency thoughts. The author points to research showing that foods rich in omega-3s can reduce depression because they help repair the antenna, allowing it to tune into higher frequencies. The implications of this theory are profound. It suggests that we have a choice between two frequencies: a positive one that unites and strengthens us, and a negative one that divides and weakens us. The author draws parallels to ancient wisdom traditions that speak of two voices or forces competing for our attention—seen in everything from the Cherokee legend of two wolves fighting inside us to biblical accounts of good and evil. The most empowering aspect of this understanding is that it gives us agency. We aren't passive victims of our thoughts; we're active choosers of which frequency we tune into. By recognizing negative thoughts as broadcasts from a lower frequency that we don't have to accept, we can learn to tune our mental dial to higher frequencies of love, trust, peace, and clarity.

Chapter 5: Love as the Ultimate Solution: Healing the Separation

Sarah had experienced sexual abuse as a child. For decades, she carried the wound in silence, hiding her pain and shame from everyone. The trauma created a deep sense of separation—from others, from herself, and from any sense of spiritual connection. "I felt like I was permanently broken," she told me. "Like there was a hole in my soul that could never be filled." In her late thirties, after years of depression and failed relationships, Sarah finally sought help. As she began to share her story with a therapist and eventually a support group, something remarkable happened. "For the first time, I didn't feel alone in my pain," she said. "I realized it wasn't my fault, and I wasn't defined by what happened to me." Sarah described the healing process as moving from separation to connection, from a hole to wholeness. This journey from separation to oneness is at the heart of the author's understanding of healing. When we experience wounds—whether from our own actions or those inflicted by others—they create separation within our soul and brain. Shame makes us want to hide, and hiding requires isolation, which only deepens the wound. "When you stop hiding," the author writes, "you can start healing." The author explains that sin (actions that harm ourselves or others) causes wounds in our soul, with shame and guilt representing inflammation that prevents healing. Just as physical inflammation blocks the body's natural healing processes, spiritual and emotional inflammation blocks soul healing. The solution is love and forgiveness—the healing mechanisms that remove inflammation so connection can be restored. This understanding transforms how we view mental health. Many approaches focus only on managing symptoms rather than addressing the root cause—separation. The author argues that true healing comes from reconnecting with ourselves, others, and something greater than ourselves. This is why community support groups and loving relationships are so powerful in recovery—they restore the connection that was broken. The author draws a parallel between the ancient story of separation in the Garden of Eden and the healing solution offered through love and forgiveness. If separation is the problem, then the ultimate solution must be something that restores oneness. "Evil separates. Love unites," the author states simply. The power of love isn't just a poetic concept but a practical force that transforms our brain, thoughts, and capacity for healing. Sarah's story illustrates this process. As she received love from her support community and learned to forgive both herself and her abuser, the inflammation in her soul began to subside. The hole that seemed permanent began to fill with connection, purpose, and even joy. "I'm not just surviving anymore," she reflected. "I'm actually living." Her journey wasn't about forgetting what happened, but about no longer being defined and limited by it. In moving from separation to oneness, she found the wholeness she thought was impossible.

Chapter 6: Practical Tools for Daily Renewal: TUNE, WHOLE, PRAYER Framework

Marcus was a high-performing executive who found himself burning out. Despite his success, he felt increasingly disconnected from his work, family, and himself. His mind was constantly cluttered with anxious thoughts, and he couldn't remember the last time he felt truly at peace. "I know all the right things to do," he told me, "but I can't seem to put them into practice consistently." What Marcus needed wasn't more information but a practical framework to implement what he already knew. The author provided him with three powerful acronyms—TUNE, WHOLE, and PRAYER—that transformed his daily experience. TUNE helped Marcus adjust his mental frequency. T stands for Trust and Truth—trusting in something greater than himself and speaking truth to the lies in his mind. "When doubt comes in, choose to trust," the author advises. U represents Unite with God or a higher power through daily practices like gratitude, praise, surrender, and receiving guidance. N reminds us to Neutralize the Negativity by identifying common negative thoughts and countering them with positive truths. E encourages us to Elevate our Thinking through gratitude, courage, and focusing on what matters most. The WHOLE framework helped Marcus move from feeling fragmented to experiencing wholeness. W stands for Walk with God or a higher purpose, imagining yourself walking side by side with a loving supporter. H reminds us to Heal—allowing our wounds to be revealed so they can be addressed rather than ignored. O represents Oneness, the connection with something greater that brings power, peace, and calm. L stands for Love, which flows naturally from oneness and transforms how we see and interact with the world. E again represents Elevate Your Mind, as love elevates everything about us, including our thinking, mood, energy, and actions. Finally, the PRAYER framework provided Marcus with a structured approach to spiritual connection. P stands for Praise—expressing gratitude and awe for the good in our lives. R reminds us to Repent, releasing shame, guilt, and resentment that create blockages to connection. A encourages us to Ask for guidance and provision for our needs. Y stands for Yield—surrendering our ego and acknowledging our need for help beyond ourselves. E represents Expect—trusting that our prayers will be answered in the right way and time. The final R reminds us to Receive—opening ourselves to accept the peace, guidance, and blessings available to us. Marcus implemented these frameworks through simple daily practices: a morning walk where he practiced gratitude and prayer, writing down negative thoughts and their positive counterparts, and evening reflection on moments of connection and love. Within weeks, he reported a dramatic shift. "My circumstances haven't changed," he told me, "but I have. I feel clearer, calmer, and more connected to everything around me." These frameworks aren't just spiritual practices—they're practical tools grounded in the neuroscience of how our brain functions as an antenna and how we move from separation to oneness. By tuning into higher frequencies, healing our wounds, and connecting to something greater than ourselves, we literally transform our brain and the thoughts we receive. The beauty of these tools is their simplicity and accessibility. Anyone, regardless of background or belief system, can implement them and experience a shift from low states of mind to higher ones.

Chapter 7: Stories of Transformation: From Brokenness to Wholeness

Alex was a minor league hockey player with major league dreams. After going six games without scoring—an eternity for a young player striving to make it to the NHL—he was at his wit's end. "I'm overthinking everything," he confessed to the author. "I used to love hockey more than anything, but now I'm just terrified of making mistakes." His mind was cluttered with fear, anxiety, and constant analysis of what was wrong with his game. The author explained the concept of high and low states of mind and how fear separates while love unites. "What do you need to do?" the author asked. Alex's answer was simple but profound: "I just need to stay on the roller coaster, love playing hockey again, and love competing. I need to stop worrying about the outcome and just love the moment." He put this into practice and scored multiple goals in his next few games, eventually earning a call-up to the NHL where he scored in each of his first two games. R.A. Dickey, a major league baseball pitcher, became an all-star later in his career after a significant transformation. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, he had kept his trauma hidden for most of his life. When he finally sought help and spoke publicly about his experience, his performance improved dramatically despite his advancing age. "When I stopped hiding in life, I stopped hiding on the pitching mound," he explained. His story illustrates how healing inner wounds transforms outer performance. By addressing the separation caused by shame and secrecy, he found new levels of wholeness that manifested in his professional success. A suicidal teenager was transformed through understanding the true source of his negative thoughts. When the author explained that the disturbing thoughts in his head weren't actually coming from him but from a lower frequency he was tuned into, the teenager experienced immediate relief. "He understood that his negative thoughts were not coming from him and stopped blaming and beating himself up," the author writes. "He also no longer felt guilt and shame. He learned the truth, stopped feeling discouraged, and everything changed. He experienced a complete 180 and was like a different kid." These stories demonstrate a common pattern: when people move from separation to oneness, from fear to love, and from low states of mind to high ones, transformation follows naturally. The corporate executive who learned to lead from love rather than fear saw his team's performance soar. The married couple who shifted from seeing themselves as adversaries to being on the same team healed their relationship. The college student who stopped comparing her life to social media highlight reels found genuine confidence and joy. What makes these transformations possible isn't willpower or positive thinking techniques alone, but a fundamental shift in understanding our connection to ourselves, others, and something greater. The author emphasizes that this isn't about achieving perfection but about experiencing wholeness. "The One Truth is not about living a perfect life," the author writes. "It's about living a hopeful, faithful, and fruitful life." Each story of transformation begins with recognizing the separation that causes suffering and then taking practical steps to restore connection and oneness. This process isn't always easy or quick, but it consistently leads to healing and renewal that changes not just internal states but external results.

Summary

At its core, this book reveals a profound truth that explains virtually every aspect of human experience: the state of our mind, relationships, and life satisfaction is determined by whether we're experiencing oneness or separation. When we feel connected to ourselves, others, and something greater than ourselves, we experience clarity, confidence, and love. When we feel separate, we experience fear, anxiety, and a host of negative thoughts that sabotage our potential. The author explains that our brain functions as an antenna, tuning into either positive or negative frequencies, and we have the power to choose which station we listen to. The practical wisdom shared throughout these pages offers a roadmap for anyone struggling with mental health challenges, relationship difficulties, or a general sense of disconnection. Through frameworks like TUNE, WHOLE, and PRAYER, we're given accessible tools to move from separation to oneness in our daily lives. Perhaps most powerfully, we learn that healing doesn't come from escaping our wounds but from addressing them with love and forgiveness—the ultimate solutions to the separation we all experience. Whether you're a high-performing professional, a struggling teenager, or someone seeking deeper meaning, the message is the same: you were created for connection, and in that connection lies the power, peace, and purpose you seek. The journey from separation to oneness isn't always easy, but it's the most worthwhile path we can walk—and we never walk it alone.

About Author

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Jon Gordon

Jon Gordon is an American business consultant and author on the topics of leadership, culture, sales, and teamwork.Jon Gordon's best-selling books and talks have inspired readers and audiences around the world. His principles have been put to the test by numerous NFL, NBA, and college coaches and teams, Fortune 500 companies, school districts, hospitals and non-profits. He is the author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller The Energy Bus, The No Complaining Rule, Training Camp, The Shark and The Goldfish, Soup, The Seed and his latest The Positive Dog. Jon and his tips have been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox and Friends and in numerous magazines and newspapers. His clients include The Atlanta Falcons, Campbell Soup, Wells Fargo, State Farm, Novartis, Bayer and more. Jon is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Masters in Teaching from Emory University. He and his training/consulting company are passionate about developing positive leaders, organizations and teams. When he's not running through airports or speaking, you can find him playing tennis or lacrosse with his wife and two "high energy" children. You can find him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jongordonpage

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