Yesterday was the May long weekend day and I broke my regular routine for that occasion. That is, I made a morning walk, took some pictures, bought a Globe and Mail and cookies! In the afternoon I read and contemplated on the theme that we are all making contributions to our existence as humans, through experience, understanding and discoveries.

I see my own contribution as one towards understanding what human existence is all about and not just about a purpose, but more as to its nature. ‘Workers in the vineyard’, was the New Testament saying that came to mind. In terms of my own symbology - from a long ago dream - I am working with others on uncovering a half submerged Mayan cum Aztec calendar stone.

How to understand our human lives and our existence?

From this contemplation I ‘extracted’ the imperative that I must stick to this work, completing my life’s theme of ‘How to understand our human lives and our existence?’. That has been the theme of human religions since the beginning, but each time faces this question anew. The handed down traditions need to be adapted to the changed situations, which is an ongoing process.

After supper I went by our old house at 3610 Tenth street SW, which is no more. A new chipboard two story construction is half complete as a replacement of our old charming bungalow style home.

To see that old family dwelling gone, is a bit sad still, even after the long ago years of 1974 to 1981, that we lived there. Last Sunday, Jack alerted me to this replacement process, in part because he must have driven by his old and replaced family home. Our homes were diagonally across that ‘William Reed’ school square, but they moved there the same year we left ours.

I find it interesting that those mentioned years hold dearer memories for me than the following thirteen years at 3528 36Ave, SW. We moved to get a bigger house and a lower the mortgage, which worked. It also became the place from which our sons left after highschool to make their start in the world of work.

In 1993 Ina left our marriage and in 1994 we sold the house splitting the proceeds. So those memories, though eventful are not that dear. However, it was for me a start of living on my own again, which turned into a positive experience for me, which it still is.

The writings from Friday are too obscure and I will have to ‘redo’ them, before moving on with my the topic of ‘Anthropogeny’, even though I already have some new ideas for it.

Returning to yesterday’s topic of ‘Existence Divine’, I want to make a two point summary at this time. The firstly regards the condition of time, place, people and circumstance and the second relates to the variation in the experience of the ‘god image’ or ‘higher power’.

The defining parameters of time, place, people and circumstance can now be considered applicable collectively - the community - as well as personally - the individual. When we as conscious humans confront the mystery of all of the rest of existence, we interact with this mystery in our human realm of experience.

(2) I call a boundary experience my encounter of the mystery - in which we are embedded and are part of - at the edge of our familiar world. The interaction with the mysterious at this boundary results in the experience of the new idea, insight, revelation or new awareness.

This boundary experience constitutes an increase in consciousness awareness - new knowing - which then must be examined as to its nature and tested against traditions, which today include the sciences, established and fringe.

The importance of the foregoing two points, lies in the fact that we now have a description of the process of interaction between our limited human conscious awareness with the mystery of all that we do not know, but in which we knowingly exist as participants within our human realm.

The reason for calling the totality of existence, ‘Existence Divine’ is that it will always be autonomous in the way we experience it, due to our own limited capacity. That limitation is, in turn a precondition to being conscious in the first place, as only this separate existence allows for that tension in which consciousness arises in order to resolve it - the tension that is between two poles as it were.

(2). We now come to the other point of the summary, namely the ‘god image‘. The religious scriptures as these have been preserved, show that the ‘god image’ that humans hold as holy changes with time for the same people as place and circumstances change. For example in the Old Testament we find Elohim, Al-Shaddah, ‘I am that I am‘, Ancient of days and several others.

Again, relating to the principles of time, place, people or person and circumstance a ‘god image’ emerges corresponding to the human experience. This ‘image’ is born from the interactive process between the limited and the unlimited as we humans experience this in our way of consciously being in this world of our experience.

(2). The ‘god image’ symbolises for us our held principles that support and guide us in our conduct, actions, values and expectations at any one time. Many such principles have been handed down in our human traditions and are held in the highest regard, naming them as holy. This image of ’the most high’ constitutes the highest ideals that we hold and to which we strive - as runners in the race- as Saint Paul puts it in the New Testament.

Finally, we recognise in this existence our human place within this mystery, which is knowable, albeit in part but evolving - Plato’s becoming- without end. The immensity of the totality of this existence is revealed in the tremendous diversity of our own human traditions, experiences, discoveries and evident in the world we know about.

Humanity in the diversity of its traditions, old and new, brings into expression and experience the immensity of Existence Divine, which cannot be limited to just a few traditions cast in time, but can only become knowable through a continuous process of unknown diversity being expressed and made known.

To us humans, such diversity is overwhelming and confusing, requiring piecemeal and gradual revelation as we make our discoveries and seek our way forward. This we should do in tolerance of each other’s contributions, since no one holds the final word.
<End of Friday’s version 2.

Introducing Anthropogeny.

Last Sunday morning I awoke early recalling the Mesopotamian hero god ‘Marduk’, who battles Tiamat and destroys her in a cosmic battle. From there I wandered on to the Greek heroes. I realised that there was some kind of connection, but decided to go back to sleep.

Later on, as I was getting up making breakfast I returned to the early morning emergence - in my memory -of ’Marduk’. At this time and later during the morning and afternoon I extended the list of heroes to include Jesus and modern ones like Columbus, Theresa Avilla, Meister Eckhart, Newton and others.

… evidence of our human individuality emerging over time and being documented in these mythologies.

The idea that was driving the expansion of this list was that it constitutes evidence of our human individuality emerging over time and being documented in these mythologies. They show us what we became aware of, over time and through the struggles involved in this process of personality formation.
<10:34am~