Quote:

THE GIFT OF BEAUTY   . Meditate for a moment on the mere existence of a thing we call beauty.  Beauty is in everything we see—in the world, in our bodies, in our feelings and passions. There is no logical or scientific reason why there should even be such a thing as beauty. Rather, beauty is a gift, one which is superfluous to survival. If there was no beauty would we miss it? What if the concept of beauty had never touched our consciousness? Do we only find our world beautiful because we are accustomed to it? If we had only known the grotesque, would we consider it beautiful? Is beauty only, as they say, in the eye of the beholder? If so, then the wonder is no less stunning, for consider the amazement that is the ability of the beholder to find beauty–that the eye for beauty is written into the nature of humanity. This is arguably more wondrous than the beauty itself!  How could this beauty come about but by the generosity of a giver? To say that we and the world came about by pure chance is a great exercise in selfishness. By such a hypothesis, we avoid the responsibility of thankfulness for our gifts. But beauty contradicts the theory of chance. If all existence was an accident, would it not have evolved toward functionality alone? We can see in science that each species grows and mutates toward functionality, power, even comfort. But what mutations can explain beauty? How can the natural causes of water, stone and gravity over millions of years produce the glory of a waterfall? How can the grim quest for survival of a single mountain fir high in the alps explain a tree so sublime? How can the simple instinct of propagation manifest in the passion and unity of human reproduction? Each of these phenomena can be explained very accurately and scientifically, but science cannot explain the consistency, and most importantly, the why of beauty in our world. Does each beautiful phenomena not point to an incredible creativity, an incredible love? The majesty of nature, art in all its forms, the capacity to love, the complex workings and passions of our bodies, the very order of the universe, all point to life itself being a remarkable gift which only selfishness could claim was not given. Could this beauty all come about by chance? Perhaps. But would it? The overwhelming beauty of the world points to the necessity of there being a Creator, and this demands us to consider what it means to exist, as a “created being.” Most obvious is the fact that I am at the mercy of the Supremity.  I believe we exist because of love. The beauty of the earth’s gifts show me that God created because s/he desired to love, and that love made him/her desire to give its creations a bounty of good. alan

:) Seeing the freshness and the beauty in everything seems to be a natural state. One we drop out of when as a result of our awareness being projected instead on to 'mind stuff' (usually past or future - like paying the bills, worrying about getting ahead, hating our neighbour or whatever) and our reality is being taken for granted.

It seems very closely allied to the joy of existence we can feel for periods (more or less continuously it seems in the case of the realised) when centred and truly aware, when resting in the moment. Also to the natural loving tendency we seem to develop in this state.......

Hi,

while you were gone, Alan, Blink had a related thread or comment regarding our being here to experience all we can. It seems you are developing that idea.

The joy and creativity that accompany beauty and wonder which you two have noted certainly seem necessary for spiritual development. Beauty and wonder are not spoken of much in western spiritual writings, are they?
I wonder ---why not?

What we perceive certainly must affect us. If I perceive myself following the 10 Commandments-- not taking life, goods, etc that are not offered or mine-- I rarely feel Spirit within. But when I perceive beauty and fall into a state of wonderment, a sense of Spirit seems to come immediately.

Surely we're here to explore heights of joy and bliss,  as a God-given right, even a responsibility  :) to truly understand the creation He/It has made for us.

Bets

You know what's beautiful Alan? Paragraphs, because they make it easier to read. ;D

All kidding aside, I'm somewhat puzzled about what beauty is. I've had experiences of divine love where I felt like I was in contact with a vast presence that was absolutely beautiful, yet I didn't see nor hear anything.

On the other hand, people will say that one lady is really beautiful because of how she physically looks, but they won't say that another lady is beautiful because of how she looks. How can one way of looking be more beautiful than another way of looking? There has to be a deeper way of looking at things than this.

Related to this, I wonder why Bruce Moen wrote of meeting a really beautiful woman non-physically during one of his ventures. Aren't we all beautiful in the World of spirit?

I have noticed that when I'm tuned into love, I can appreciate the beauty of many things, without being selective. I can enjoy something such as music much more.