Mary,
When I first posted my experience conerning what I called a mystical
event or chat with God, I was hesitent to do so because of responses such as
yours. I had expected a lot more, actually. I posted that several weeks ago,
but you chose only to respond to it after I disagreed with some of your
fathers posted remarks. I didn't mean to make anyone defensive about their
opinions. And I surely do not blaim you for coming to his defense, but I
thought the timing about my pesonal experience mentioned weeks ago, and your
need, now, to tell me to "cool it" a bit too coincidental.
Now, I'm defensive. I'm being tag teamed by a father/ daughter
empirisist/rationalist family. Help me Mr.Wizard! I tried throwing in a joke
in my response to your Dad's statements in hopes that my criticism wouldn't
come off so heavy handed. I think I missed the mark. As I often do.
The fact that a rational world brings you so much peace of mind is great. I
just disagree with it. As far as my mystical experience goes, I wrote to
Robert Pirsig directly and his opinions on the matter seem to agree more with
mine. He stated that the phenomena that I experienced may have been a kind of
an enlightenment. He wondered about the Hindu claim that enlightenment is a
universal phenomenon. Why does it occur in some countries and not in others?
The fact that my experience was considered to be a deviation form reality
rather than an experience of reality explains why. Some cultures, like our
own, filter out of what they will accept as real and when it happens they
claim it something else.
He also stated that prior to enlightenment there is a huge opening up of the
mind to the "mythos" which in this case means more than legends. It means the
main stream, the whole body of every idea that ever existed or can exist
which each culture selects from, calling its own selection reality.
He also describes, in Lila, the phenomena of the dharmakaya light is
important because it often appears associated with undfined auspiciousness,
that is with Dynamic Quality. This light is also filtered out by our
rational, dualistic western culture.
My disagreement with your father was concerning Dynamic Quality, or
Pre-intellectual awareness, or the subliminal self, or what ever you want to
call it, even God. Since Pirsig states over and over in both of his book,
that this Dynamic Quality cannot be defined and that makes it mystical.
Pirsig even calls it mystical over and over again. "The Metapysics of Quality
identifies religious mysticism with Dynamic Quality." "Dynamic Quality is a
higher moral order than scientific truth..." "Strictly speaking, the
creation of any metaphysics is an immoral act since it is a lower form of
evoluton, intellect, trying to devour a higher mystic one."
"And the Darwinians don't mean just any old Quality, they mean Undefined
Quality."
I agree that morals are the ground stuff of the world. But that which
creates the world is Dynamic Quality. The closest thing Pirsig can use to
describe this undefinable event is through analogies like Quality, Dharma,
and Good.
And what do you know about this undefinable Quality? You say that it
cannot communicate with me or anyone else through a mystical event. If it is
mystical or undefinable, how can you be so sure?
You use Frederick Nietzshe's statement that God is dead and never existed in
the first place. That is not the MoQ. Nietzshe was a voluntarist, as were
William James, Jules Poincare, and Robert Pirsig. Nietzche, though, asserted
"will to power" was at the heart of knowledge. The three latter proposed it
was a "will to good." Those are two different philosophies. Pirsig also
alludes to the fact that the root origins for the word for good and God seem
to be identical.
All's I can say is that mine was a personal experience. It did not come
from an external influence as you stated. The reason I brought it up in the
first place because of a similar feeling another group member had, in which
this awareness seemed to be
coming from internally as well as externally at the same time. I said it was
like every cell in my body along with every atom in the room were
communicating with me.
Until you yourself ever experience such an event, I really don't blaim
you for doubting it happened. I think your cultural immunue system won't
allow it. But since it did happen to me, I know what happened. I was there. I
felt it. Does anyone really need to tell us what is good and what is not good?
By the way, I do know what a my subconscious is. I also can get a lot of
input on that subject from my sister and brother in law who are both
psychiatrists. Do you know any enlightened monks?
I signed my email to your Dad , Mystically yours, Fred
He asked me if it was dark up here.
Tell him, no, there's a lot of white light everywhere,
but my electricity bill is enormous
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