What we know is only a small part of what is. The massed banks of stars in he night sky whisper about other universes of thought and space and time and existence.  It is an infinity of small perceptual universes: all of the insects on earth; all of the animals above and below the waters; all of the strange crystallizations of the nature of the universe; the atoms becoming trees and stars; seahorses and plants.

This infinity cannot be destroyed. If all of the seahorses should die, we would still be in the kind of universe that creates sea horses. If all the stars should disappear the dusts of space would make new ones.  It hardly seems important, from the viewpoint of eternity, what particular aspects of the universe are expressed on a minor planet such as ours. Once again we reach those un-answerable questions. At the center of mechanics there is mystery. We are a mystery, and we live in mystery. And we know it, some of us.

Explaining how something works does not explain how it exists. Are the leverages with in our universe becoming available to us?  Quoting from Evelyn Underhill, from Mysticism, [1974, New American Library]:
 

Man’s greatest inhumanity to man has invariably come in the guise of bigotry. “If we are right then surely, they must be wrong.”  This dismemberment of the psyche into a good and worthless portion has mostly been based on ignorance, superstition or religious belief.

That which we do not understand, we are more likely to put up on a pedestal and make into a devil or a deity. The most vulnerable are always the most superstitions and fearful, and hateful. These are the ones that seek to exclude others. Understanding and enlightenment brings inclusion.

Whatever is classic is always embodies the things we all have in ommon— coming into being and passing away, love and tragedy, that which we care about most deeply. The true function of art and religion is to afford our imagination with appropriate ways of feeling and behavior. By putting us in touch with the larger cycles of nature our sense of awe and wonderment is renewed.

Without that we are less likely to know what we feel and are we are more likely to imitate others and become just another member of a tribe, clan, gang, or “ism.” Divorcing one’s self from dreams, from feeling, caring, is to give up individuality. This is dangerous because once this fine line has been crossed, surrender to a system of some kind becomes ever easier. Once in a state of denial, anything can be ignored. Once enslaved by a system, atrocity can be only a step away.

The nature of the human spirit is love. But falling in and out of love can lead to aloofness and frigidity even where a deep, spiritual bond, once existed.  Longevity in human relationships depends primarily on feelings. How another person feels around you is really the determining factor. It's pretty hard to be "in love" when you are already "in anger".  Many people carry enormous stress loads and they do not even realize it!

Too often we seem to be only crashing into each other without any real connection, resulting in a longing to know that we are cared for in some significant way. We want to move beyond isolation and conflict into cooperation and a more positive flow of energy so we can develop a deeper spiritual connection. But it becomes apparent that often we aren't communicating very well.

Are men hard wired for violence and aggression, and women for passivity? Women have long suffered the pain of being devalued. They also have a more immediate sense of pain and grief. Menstruation itself is a kind of loss, a kind of mini-death within. Women are more immediately in touch with the emotional significances of experiences such as coming into being and passing away. Thankfully, their psyche seems geared to nurturance.  Will they be the ones to show the way?

The Men's movement gurus tell us that the way for men to find the appropriate mode of feeling and behavior is a descent through grief and ashes, in order to come to terms with the philosphical implications of violence. Since the invention of weapons of mass destruction, violence certainly has new significance.