Numinous

Explore the term (and state) popularized by Rudolf Otto in "The Idea of the Holy"

Here is just one manifestation of the numinous, via “PoeticalPhotos.” There are so many more; they are all over the place; where is yours, at this moment?

Not long ago, I had soured on the idea of book-writing; it didn’t come to me anymore. And then, one night, on a long solo drive home from Connecticut, I listened to Nick Cave singing a Leonard Cohen song that I’d never heard before. It was called “Avalanche,” and it was numinous, and I drove the rest of the way under a spell. “It” was back. Whatever “it” was, whatever is the precious substance that infuses life, elevates it, reminds us that humans can be wondrous despite our many failings: I was all aflame with creative energy. I started writing the next morning.*

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In his famous book, “The Idea of the Holy,” Rudolf Otto described the “numinous” as a “non-rational, non-sensory experience that is outside of the self.”

These experiences take an infinite number of forms.

Here are three reflections on the numinous.

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“The main interest of my work is not concerned with the treatment of neurosis but rather with the approach to the numinous…the real therapy. In as much as you attain to the numinous experiences you are released from the curse of pathology.”—Carl Jung

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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

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“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. This insight into the mystery of life, coupled though it be with fear, has also given rise to religion. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms — this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness. In this sense, and in this sense only, I belong in the ranks of devoutly religious men.” - A. Einstein

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Some questions for you:

Would you like to describe one of your experiences of the numinous, either now, recently, or a long time ago?

Do you agree with Jung that “approach to the numinous” is “the real therapy”?

Have you had the experience of seeing the world in a grain of sand (or child’s laugh, or musical passage, or, or, or…)

Please leave a comment below, and/or share this Kindred Letter with a friend.

*Right now, actually, I can’t figure out which project to work on. I’m torn between three different book ideas. It may take a while to sort it out. (I’m just mentioning this, by way of keeping you up to date.)