the Great Mystery

That's my current term for it. "It" being what some call God, what Freud termed the "oceanic feeling," and what I've categorized as a mental state, one of many. "God" is a good cultural shorthand for it. "Spiritual Atheism" is another good, if less well known, phrase. Whatever I feel sometimes, I think it's what others feel -- we're all human, after all. Many refer to it as a spiritual feeling, or a sense of the divine. Others think of it as a mental state. Whatever it is, I feel it to at times -- other times I don't. Whatever it is, or means, it's worth pursuing.

Lately I've found inspiration in the Psalms. They reflect a one to one approach to God (that's cultural shorthand, remember!). I don't need to dwell on the history, the rules of Torah, or the prophets. The Psalms speak to me.

In that sense, in my search for the Great Mystery, I don't need JC or the new testament. Yes yes he was a role model a few days ago -- I'll get back into that mood again sometime. But for now I don't want to focus on our godness; I want to read the Psalms and feel their influence on me.

I've been reading Paul's letters lately, to prepare for that lecture in a few weeks, and books on Paul. I'm ever the skeptic about him, of course!