Sublimity
Abstract:
We cannot grasp anything essential about the universe without mentioning sublimity. Words like sublimity and ecstasy are seldom used in everyday speech. People are normally too wrapt up in the quotidian cares of life to get into this mode of thinking and being. These words that invoke a sense of the awesome and transcendental tie together the fragments of an individual experience.
The etymology of the word sub-lime refers to what is beneath the threshold of liminal consciousness. Beneath it there is pure creativity. We might even say: The act or verb of Love or Light itself. Light or Love as the agency which quickens life into life. It is a restless and supernal intelligence that drives all cosmic activity, yet is beyond it in scope and power. We may very well associate it with Divinity or Creator. Every sublime state is a configuration or masterful sketch of God. In subliminal perception we are moving past the consciousness cursor which neatly arranges the concepts and images we behold. We are viewing beyond the morass of cosmic code which is normally decelerated into mundane and solid states. Instead, we are experiencing the living frenzy of creative energy. Creation in the making.
When we gaze upon a spectacular crepuscular vista—it can impress upon us as more than the sum of its parts. In one case it may be a collection of irregularly shaped cloud strands covered with either shadow or soaked in luminosity. Beyond the superficies the images stand for more. There is a manic activity made of the parts of the parts, which we might term “sub,” for it is hidden. A sublime vista, whether a sunset or gorge—speaks of a greater reality. We are seeing, as it were, the innards, the life-blood beyond the physiognomy.