The Divine is Confronted in the Privacy of Our Own Consciousness

This is a reply to an email I recently received.

Hi Greg--

Thanks for your kind interest! In regard to your statement--

god cannot be fully attained in solitude

--I wanted to say this: If you're not simply going to live in a cave somewhere, being a part of a community of believers is vital. Not only do the experiences of others help you understand what's possible, that framework of joined belief--I know, I know, I felt it too!--helps keep the weight of the mundane from ruining your belief in what you've experienced.

But even when we're surrounded by other people, ultimately, the Divine is confronted in the privacy of our own consciousness. If God incarnates, that's where it happens. That is to say, it's the intensity of the experience for you, what you feel in your heart and what explodes in your brain and what it all means...to you. In those shining moments our relationship to God is the central fact of existence; how can it not be, when you discover you are in fact Her favorite of all Her creations ever? (Of course, that's true for everyone else around you, too, but that paradox is part of the mystery.) The trick is sustaining that incredibly energizing revelation when the world tries to crush it like a flower under a boot heel. That can be done alone, but it's hard. But of course, doing hard things is what makes us strong, right?

So I guess what I'm saying is that I think that statement is both true and *not* true. The Divine is attained in solitude. But it's most easily lived as reality when we're allied with others who believe in It, too.

All the best,

Pa Dammit