“He who thinks he knows, does not know; he who knows that he does not know, knows.”

- Joseph Campbell

 

Have you ever seen a sunset that left you speechless? Have you ever died laughing at the antics of a baby? Have you ever been so involved in what you were doing, that you lost track of time?

 

If so, you have participated in the divine mystery of existence. 

 

The experience of awe, wonder, and humility awakens in us the sense of mystery, and the subliminal understanding that we are much bigger than the bounds of our body becomes momentarily conscious. This perspective is the most religious or spiritual attitude our finite human minds can hold. Poet Willaim Blake wrote,

 

“When the doors of perception are cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.”

 

In some real sense we do not know what anything actually is in this universe. Take a chair for example, we know that it might be made of wood, metal, or plastic, and if we break it down to the molecular level it’s fundamentally matter. But what is matter made of? Atoms. What are atoms made of? Electrons. What are electrons made of? Particles. We do not know what particles are made of. It is just a name we have applied to that which is irreducible. 

 

As soon as you apply a judgment, a name, a label, a definition to something it shuts you off to the experience of awe and wonder. Think of the most beautiful sunset you have seen, now imagine the person next to you said, “oh yeah, that’s just some particles from the sun’s rays.” They’re closed off to the mystery. By simply giving an ambiguous scientific term to something whose source is ultimately unknown, they have made themselves believe they know what it is. We must let go of what we know to see life for what it is, a mystery. 

 

So, when you look at a table, a chair, a tree, or anything existing, ask yourself what are you? Joseph Campbell says,

 

“Just think of a thing as a Thou instead of an it, and then your experience changes”. 

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“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way"

- William Blake

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You might ask yourself then, “Who am I?” Have you ever thought why that question is so hard to answer? How is it that you don't know who you are? That is because, the same mystery of the sunset, the stars, and the cosmos themselves are you. The mystery of this world and the mystery of your being are of the same ineffable source. Physicist Erwin Schrödinger has said, 

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“this life of yours that you are living is not merely a piece of the entire existence, but is, in a certain sense, the whole; only the whole is not so constituted that it can be surveyed in one simple glance. This is what the Brahmins express in that sacred, mystic formula that is yet really so simple and so clear: Tat tvam asi, that is you.”

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"“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

- Albert Eienstin 

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    “Look at things not as them being the things in themselves, but as manifestations of a mystery: the idea of a mystery is what it’s all about. And that mystery of these things are your mystery” 

-Joesph Campbell 

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Now I know this may sound too mystical an idea for most, but this perspective has practical value beyond belief. What does it actually mean to manifest the mystery? It means to walk through the world with humility, which is essential to living as a vital human being. No one likes to know it all, because their narrow minded approach to life does not allow them to accept new ideas, or at least those which do not already agree with their view of this world. 

 

A humble person is open and receptive to whatever is thrown their way. If anyone has ever tried to truly understand another human being they know they must suspend all preconceived judgments and actually listen to what the other person has to say. This attitude should be taken towards everything one encounters, so that the immense beauty of life in this world can be apprehended, and the Truth of existence revealed. 

 

Though, not knowing is uncomfortable for most. But it is only when we realize that we do not know, that we can move out of our comfort zones, face our fear of uncertainty, and begin to understand who we are, what life is about, and how it is we should live. 

 

Follow what fascinates you. What calls forth your curiosity? When your interest is peaked you are pointed to the mystery of your own self. By following that impulse, for better or for worse, you will start to see yourself for who you really are. Awareness of what grabs our attention will lead to self realization. 

 

“Anyone who has an experience of mystery at all knows that there is a dimension of the universe that is not available to his senses. There is a wonderful saying in one of the Upanishads, when before a sunset, or a mountain, and the beauty of this or the beauty of that, you pause and say “ah…,” that is participation in divinity. And I think that’s what it is, it’s the realization of wonder, and also the experience of tremendous power” 

- Joseph Campbell

 

You will not grasp this notion overnight, and perhaps none of us will ever fully comprehend it, but you do not exist as separate from what is outside the confines of your skin. Everything you perceive is you, not physically, but perceptually, psychologically, spiritually; thou art that. You are it.

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"To see a World in a Grain of Sand 

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower 

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour"

- William Blake