Pantheists! If we are working toward a consensus definition of pantheism that cuts across lines of belief systems or lack thereof, may I propose this as a common starting point: Pantheism is a paradigmatic mode of being that aims to cure us of isolation and cultivate solitude. This idea grew from my reading of the Catholic monk and author Thomas Merton and his ruminations on the mystic quality of solitude. It is a misunderstanding to think of solitude as merely being alone, according to Merton, for we are only ever truly alone if we isolate ourselves in the ego. Isolation, then, is a false state of being, a bad head trip that we know all too well. But if you think about what it means to be solitary...sole...One, without a contrasting second. Being One with all. Solitude is essentially Oneitude. We probably all know the feeling of solitude on some level. Many of us can relate to finding it among unspoiled nature. I also feel it when Im walking under the moon in the spoiled gravel yard full of diesel trucks, he only driver shipping out at 1:30 AM. Or rolling down the New Jersey Turnpike in a whitewater stream of commuters. Ive been fortunate enough to find this feeling in the bleakest of urban industrial zones & the streets of Manhattan at rush hour. I have also isolated myself on a remote hiking trail and a mountaintop, or a crowded room, when my mind was too attached to self-concerns. There are no external circumstances that can create solitude, just as we are capable of isolation anytime or anywhere; its all about whats happening internally. The take-home point we can unite around is this: no matter what you conceive the Pan/All to be, be it a theistic concept or not, it swallows you whole and makes you One with it --and through it, with everything else that exists. Understand that, and all there is left to do is learn the best ways to cultivate solitude for your unique personality, and follow those ways wholeheartedly. This works whether the approach is religious or naturalistic, based in theology, philosophy, science or all the above. The very idea of right (dis)belief can be left behind completely.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 10:35:52 +0000
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