Why Believe?

In short, because of the Existential Mercy of the Present. More on this later. First, it is important to understand the proper conception of divinity. God is not anthropomorphic- he does not look like a person nor does he experience human emotions. He also is not a miracle worker- he will not do you a favor by upending the laws of physics.

The best nickname to use for God to properly conceptualize Him is ‘the non-numerical One’. He is ‘one’ not because there is only one of Him, but because He is the only thing that exists. He is the one ‘without a number’ so to speak. To draw this concept out further, it can be said that God is the timeless oneness that expresses itself as multiplicity in time. It can further be said that His Will takes the form of the subtle manifesting itself as the coarse despite their apparent polarity. The physicality of existence, what we frequently call matter, is best thought of as ‘the perfection of the divine form’.

What does this have to do with the Existential Mercy of the Present?

If the world around us (existence, the universe, the jumbled mess of life) is an expression of oneness and subtlety, then movement towards oneness and subtlety (‘the source’) results in the perception of harmony while excessive attention towards the moving parts- the calculation of function and value for the individual components- results in the perception of chaos and discord.

The Existential Mercy of the Present describes the state of being that is attained when one gets close to ‘the source’. Attention to multiplicity- the moving parts mentioned above- is a normal part of life, but it becomes excessive when the process of objectifying things and phenomena is applied to the self: What is my function? What is my value? What is my purpose? While these assessments may seem harmless, they require you to make judgments about your relations to others, which is where it can all go wrong from a spiritual perspective. To be clear, exploring such questions only becomes problematic when the answers are used as a justification to deny the most subtle human instinct (more on that below). Such objectification of the self is often referred to as the ego, a term with which most people are familiar.

When the ego is subdued; when the objectification of the self has subsided, the underlying unity of existence impresses itself overwhelmingly on the consciousness of the individual- the presence of the One. That moment of overwhelming presence feels like mercy; hence the 'Existential Mercy of the Present'. The Existential Mercy of the Present relieves you of the burden of self-justification associated with individuality.

Mercy requires agency. It is organic. It requires consciousness from its giver and its recipient. In other words, someone must be merciful to you. Mercy cannot come from an inanimate object. On the contrary, mercy is the preeminent quality of the divine. No superpowers, no miracles, no angels or demons. Just the Existential Mercy of the Present.

How do you get to the Existential Mercy of the Present?

The answer is subtle! We’ve discussed oneness, but not so much subtlety. First, let’s cover The Lie. You know that thing that you do where you lie to yourself about something, but deep down you know that it’s a lie? Of course, you do because everyone does it. The cognitive dissonance that this action produces results in cynicism, a cardinal vice. The vice of cynicism is an inevitable byproduct of the self-objectification that we call the ego. So what is The Lie? It is the excuse that you give yourself for denying the most subtle instinct human beings have: generosity. When people deny their generous instinct, the most subtle motivation possible, whether in the form of consciously not acting generously or by broadly maintaining a mindset of insecurity and scarcity, they lie to themselves about their reasons for doing so, precisely because the violation of so base an instinct compels an explanation. However, deep down inside they know that their excuses are shallow and inadequate, that they are lies.

Why is generosity so subtle? Because it defies categorization and quantification. It escapes the calculation of value, the justification of self, that is the hallmark of the ego. It is a subtle urge that cannot be pinned down. This is why anyone would intuitively recognize that giving $1 to a homeless person with no expectation of reimbursement is more generous than giving $1 million to a university so that one of its schools can be named in honor of the donor. It has to be something for nothing: so real that it happens but not definite enough to be analyzed.

Human beings frequently refer to themselves as God's children, but in a more practical sense they are ‘Generosity’s children’. The generosity of the individual mirrors the mercy of the One. If indulged enough, in action and in spirit, generosity is reciprocated within the individual as the experience we call the Existential Mercy of the Present- the likeness of God in Man.

“There are those who give little of the much which they have—and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all.

These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.

And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.

Through the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.”

- Khalil Gibran, On Giving