Awe is an intuition for the dignity of all things,
a realization that things not only are what they are
but also stand, however remotely, for something supreme.
~ Abraham Heschel

Rabbi Heschel points out there are three ways we may respond to the reality of the world around us: “We may exploit it, we may enjoy it, we may accept it with awe.” The mystic not only enjoys the world, the mystic accepts it with awe. It is impossible to find anything thin enough to slip between where wonder ends and awe begins so much do they wash together into what Heschel calls radical amazement. Descriptively awe occurs when wonder becomes worship, when, for example, whatever evokes our wonderment naturally seems to allude to a transcendent mystery and offers us a felt sense of God’s presence. This is captured in the psalmist’s exclamation, “The heavens are telling the glory of God.” When on a clear night we move far enough away from the city lights and into the wild where the spangled sky is so plentiful with stars it takes our breath away, we sense the Mystery that engendered and enfolds the heavens. That’s why for the mystic, oohing and aahing are our primal prayers of praise and our continual, conscious practice.

PRACTICE:

This weekend: Saturday “Ooh!” Sunday: “Aah!” Please, no contrarians who insist on “Aahing” on Saturday, and “Oohing” on Sunday. Oh, just do what your heart speaks.

NB! I use the terms mystic/contemplative and mystical/contemplative interchangeably.