There is more to life than this.” She was absolutely correct.
I have spent the last three decades trying to find out what that “more” is. And I am still searching.
I have come to believe that the experience of the numinous is not just an emotional reaction to the beauty of nature, but a glimpse into a different way of being in the world. I think that this experience is the source of all that is good in human beings.
I also think that we are all born with the capacity to experience the numinous. We are born with the capacity to experience the goodness of the world.
But something happens to us along the way. We are led to believe that the world is an inherently hostile place. We are led to believe that we are not good enough, that we need to be more successful, more powerful, more beautiful, and more extroverted in order to be happy.
I think that this is a lie that we have been told, and that this lie is the source of all that is bad in human beings.
So what is the alternative? How do we reclaim the experience of the numinous?
I believe that we need to stop trying to control the world and start trying to experience it.
The world is not a hostile place. It is beautiful and good.
We are not flawed. We are good enough.
We need to start living in the present moment, and stop trying to predict the future.
We need to start doing things that give us a sense of meaning and purpose.
We need to start doing things that we enjoy.
We need to start being kind and compassionate towards ourselves and others.