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The Invisible Heart of The Universe
There are moments in life when time seems to stand still — moments when we find ourselves transfixed, and eventually transformed. These moments can be cosmic in scale, as reflected in the awe that we feel when beholding a rare solar eclipse, or an approaching storm. These moments may also be quite intimate, but no less moving, such as when we witness an animal emerging from hiding or when we hear an exquisite song. We recognize, and always remember these moments because they are announced by bodily sensations; we gasp, our hearts beat faster, and tears often flow. ..
— Dr. Mary A. Wood
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My guess is most of us, whether we call ourselves religious or not, have had some experience of being teleported by beauty to a strange psychic “place” where time seems to stand still for an instant and we have a sense of seeing behind the veil of things into the invisible heart of the universe. Many of us have been strangely lifted by stars. We have left the beautiful flower unpicked out of pure reverence. We have looked into the eyes of a newborn and felt we were glimpsing a window into the life process itself.
Mythologist Joseph Campbell sometimes described the feeling of being struck by beauty as “aesthetic arrest.”
— Jim Rigby
