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Revelations of Awe<br />
45<br />
<strong>rapt</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>awe</strong><br />
Each of us has profound capacities for the most ecstatic joy.<br />
As human be<strong>in</strong>gs we are wired for bliss. A harmonic symphony of<br />
bra<strong>in</strong> waves will dish out a lum<strong>in</strong>ous sense of absolute <strong>awe</strong>, if we<br />
can only attune ourselves to the sympathetic vibration of cosmic<br />
elation. I am pretty <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> this, a curiousity that started with<br />
a random revelation of <strong>awe</strong> – the clear recognition that I can <strong>in</strong>ter-‐<br />
act with the universe at large. As I fire out labels and words to be<br />
associated with various experiences, I risk the skewed response of<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpretation. Thus I <strong>in</strong>vite you to participate <strong>in</strong> a reflective exer-‐<br />
cise with the hope that you will have an experiential frame of<br />
reference for what I am go<strong>in</strong>g on about here. Th<strong>in</strong>k back on a time<br />
<strong>in</strong> your life where all th<strong>in</strong>gs merged <strong>in</strong>to a sense of utter per-‐<br />
fection, where you were at complete ease and acceptance with<br />
yourself and the world around you. Perhaps it was <strong>in</strong> the midst of<br />
<strong>in</strong>nocent childhood play, or <strong>in</strong> the calm presence of nature, maybe<br />
it was the lum<strong>in</strong>ous feel<strong>in</strong>g of love and be<strong>in</strong>g loved. I believe that<br />
each of us has direct access to what I am call<strong>in</strong>g <strong>awe</strong>, and that this<br />
experience may become easily overlooked due to rational refer-‐<br />
enc<strong>in</strong>g and/or dogmatic devotional attachments. It is easy for us<br />
to overlook these experiences if they are not accounted for easily<br />
with<strong>in</strong> our prevalent worldviews. These worldviews also shape the<br />
lens of <strong>in</strong>terpretation of these personal experiences of <strong>awe</strong>.<br />
Ultimately each of us is either open or closed to the <strong>awe</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
each moment. This is the challenge brought by a self-‐reflexive<br />
consciousness <strong>in</strong> each <strong>in</strong>stant. Be<strong>in</strong>g open to the <strong>awe</strong> makes us an<br />
agent of evolv<strong>in</strong>g cosmic consciousness. Whereas referenc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
fixed identity constructs such as rigid rational reductionist rules or<br />
dug <strong>in</strong> devotional dogma, <strong>in</strong>hibits the free-‐flow of cosmic energy<br />
to be <strong>in</strong>-‐formed by novelty. 22 Thus I believe the task of be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
human is the recognition and ma<strong>in</strong>tenance of this state of open-‐<br />
22 Novelty refers to <strong>in</strong>novative new structures of thought or form. Newness.