We've discussed the metaphysics of being and its phenomenology to some extent, but the quality most enduring, or prior to and unaffected by belief or examination, is a sense of goodness in just existing. And while Heidegger's metaphor "intuition of being" is apt, I wonder why we so often overshoot this simple truth of our existence. Young children certainly don't miss it, and in so many ways call our attention to it, assuming we know and trust it. Therefore, it is perhaps the worst of all things to lose contact with if the early years are afflicted.

I exist, therefore I'm good. I'm good, therefore I exist. Both are true.

But to actually taste this is something else. The taste of it, for me, is accompanied by wonder, of course, but is so immediate that it is like a part of your body having been paralyzed for so long, and then gradually, or all in one moment, regaining one's basic feeling.

Can't we see it in our own eyes, and in our friends?

I wish I could convey what this is, how simple and immediate it is, so immediate that it is missed. Perhaps it is missed because existence doesn't require effort, and if goodness is as basic as existence, then little surprise we overlook it so often.

My first stumbling onto what I'm calling "basic goodness" came in prayer when I realized this is how God sees me. But then I discovered it could also be known in self awareness because it is the primary quality of our being creatures.

This goodness doesn't wane in the face of horrible pain or crime or how misshapen we can become or how cruelly we treat each other. It isn't contingent on how well we understand its meaning, although the development of other virtues probably give us a better sense of it.

Of course, the Dark Night of the Spirit might remove our capacity to see this, but doesn't the doctor describe this as so only to see in a different way? as one is seen by God? I can't speak to this, since I'm still floundering in the Purgative Stage with scattered moments of Illumination. But I have known a few people, one in particular, who was probably established in the Unitive Stage, and what I can say most about him, in looking back, was this constant aura of goodness. He was my Greek professor in college, a Cistercian Monk. People would take his classes just to spend time around him. I'm fairly sure he wasn't thinking too much about himself, evidence of the Unitive Stage, but the goodness was a sweetness and humor that made his huge intelligence very approachable. He spoke eight languages and taught himself Hebrew. I miss him.

I exist, therefore I'm good. I'm good, therefore I exist. Both are true.

But to actually taste this is something else.

I like this very much, especially the part about actually tasting it.

At the theology institute recently, we emphasized two aspects of created things: that it is, and what it is. At the level of "that-ness," there is this fundamental goodness which springs fresh from the Creator. To wake up to oneself at this level brings a fresh realization of the sure fact of one's existence and one's fundamental goodness. This is known directly rather than reflectively, and it is a liberating experience.

Good topic.

I'm wondering if some of our forum members would be interested in discussing this sense of goodness that Phil and I are noting. For instance, I find that this experience is quite centering and soothing to the Kundalini.

Usually when I pay attention, except for receptivity to God in prayer, there is an attempt, in some subtle way, to create an experience. Less being, more doing. And yet "being," if not abstact in the intellectual sense, can be rather Zen-like otherwise, void of intimate presence.

"Goodness" in the way I experience it is immediate, so much so that it is missed via a mind that is always objectifying and projecting itself. But existence, and the goodness that it is, preceeds this effort not just factually, but as a primary, abiding quality of presence.

My sense is that there are some moments of just wondering about "goodness," even a reflection like that encouraged in Metta practice, where you imagine a close friend or two being with you, seeing you in a loving way. Then the instruction is to rest in the goodness which arises. And so there is a momentary effort, only leading to this quality of being that is self-sustaining. My mind, of course, slips out of this simplicity to pursue its trance-like existence, a well-established habit.

So perhaps in group fashion we could generate a shared experience of this, spending some time wondering about it privately if that fits, and then reporting what we find.

Linda, Stephen, any takers?