Darkness.
Enigma.
Secret.
Curiousity.
Surprise.
Paranormal.
Superstition.
Rapture.
Riddle.
Myth. Magic. Mystery.
* * *
The definition of mystery, though multi-faceted, is a good place to start:
Anything that arouses curiosity or perplexes because it is unexplained, inexplicable, or secret.
That [which] is not fully understood or that baffles or eludes understanding; an enigma.
But it goes further. I’m not the only one that has noticed the prevalence of mysticism in contemporary civilisation:
The skills, lore, or practices that are peculiar to a particular activity or group and are regarded as the special province of initiates.
A religious truth that is incomprehensible to reason and knowable only through divine revelation.
An incident from the life of Jesus, especially the Incarnation, Passion, Crucifixion, or Resurrection, of particular importance for redemption.
The derivation is even more interesting:
From Latin mystērium, from Greek mustērion, secret rite, from mustēs, an initiate, from mūein, to close the eyes, initiate.
So you can see, the concept of mystery is old and likely prehistoric, pre-dating all forms of modern civilisation. Though Christianity is the only religion mentioned by name in the definitions, all theistic religions rely solely on mystery as their driving force; their ‘hook’, if you will. That’s why those few that actually communicate with God (or gods) are referred to as ‘mystics’ — they’re dealing with mysterious, inexplicable, unprovable phenomena. Gods are mysteries, in other words.
The fundamental axiom of all advanced lifeforms can be generalised as ‘What’s around the next corner?’ On a low-level it might be as simple as finding new hunting grounds; for humans it might as complex as finding a new partner, a new job — either way, it’s about moving. Not necessarily forward or back, but moving. There are higher concepts but at the end of the day it’s exploration and horizon-hunting that really does it for us; what really satisfies us.
Why then are we so damn addicted to mystery? Mystery is the polar opposite of exploration, science, truth. But we embrace it! We find comfort in the not-knowing. We set out on epic journeys to seek out new continents and new civilisations, all the while seeking solace in the gods that illumine starlit skies. There’s something about that which we do not know.
And these mysteries will forever remain because we don’t try too hard to solve them. No matter how hard we try, a mystery remains just beyond the reach of our grasping fingertips — or rather, we don’t stretch our hands too far in case we actually reach the mystery. The moment we close our fingers and find it to be nothing more than insubstantial smoke and deceptive mirrors — we shatter. Our world-view contorts and shifts and finally buckles under its elusive enormity. The shattered fragments of mystery lay limp and unravelled between our fingers. There’s nothing there. There never has been. There never will be.
Gosh.
Why do we keep reaching? Why do we raise our hands to the sky in search of salvation and heavenly oases?
Why does it hurt so much when we find out that a mystery is really nothing more than random chance or laws of physics? Because we’re rational creatures; we feast on order, reason. For every effect we must attribute a cause.
Someone somewhere once prayed to the very first heavenly and inexplicable body: the stars. The constellation of Orion perhaps. ‘Let tomorrow’s hunt be a success’ he prayed. And you know what? It was. The hunt was a rave success. Forever after, he prayed to the stars.
Then one day, sometime in the near future, the hunt wasn’t a success. In fact, some of the hunters were gored by the wild boar and died. So of course he prayed harder. What other option was there?
zoeo
Oct 5, 2009
>>>Why does it hurt so much when we find out that a mystery is really nothing more than random chance or laws of physics?
because …
now, you must be the own creator of your live.
now, you are not longer able to give up your responsibility.
now, you are alone, alone with yourself. that’s what most people are afraid.
give them someone who take their faults. give them someone who killed their problems. humans are “group-living animals” they need the other.
and, if there are nobody who could help, they look to the sky with the hope that there are someone who take away their problems, donated consolation, hope and the feeling not to stay alone.
maybe one of the reasons …. maybe
Clairebear
Oct 5, 2009
I think it’s about wanting to believe that there is some kind of help that won’t fail you – to know that all of your praying, or whatever else, is in vain means that all we really have is ourselves. Why is that so scary? because there are some problems that we cannot solve. There are things that science, etc can’t fix. There are problems that are still beyond us. To reveal that our “last hope” doesnt exists means that, in some cases, the problems are unsolvable, or the pain/fear/suffering/etc are inevitable and inescapable.
I think its all about hope. The hope that there is something beyond us that can fix those things we can’t.
Im not a religious person myself, but I was raised as a catholic, and swapped and changed between various religions as I got older. The key link between them all is that hope. If we prove that our last option isnt an option, we dont have that hope.
I don’t know.
LiLu
Oct 5, 2009
Is this why we’re all so obsessed with vampires lately? Hmmmm.
P.S. A photo shoot, eh? Interesting…
sebastian
Oct 5, 2009
Ah, you found that comment… I did wonder if I would get away with that one or not…
(Need to eat before I reply properly, so I can sound semi-intelligent.)
Hezabelle
Oct 5, 2009
The whole concept of “mustērion” in Greek demonstrates this – as the definition you posted shows: the Greeks used the same root word for three seemingly different concepts: a rite or initiation (look up the Eleusinian Mysteries!), closing one’s eyes and a secret. But our word mystery most often means something that remains unsolved. Which is closer to the Latin, “mystērium” but still not the same thing. Since the Latin always had religious connotations. But where did our religious connotation go that we now have “mystery novels”?
Interesting that you chose Orion and a hunter, since Orion was a hunter, accidentally killed by Artemis. But you probably knew that?
If you think about it, all mythology… and indeed all theology.. is an attempt to solve a mystery.
Ed Adams
Oct 5, 2009
I’m not quite sure where you’re going with this, but I like that you’re thinking about thses things.
Oh, and this….
“It’s not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting; but has been found difficult and left untried.”
-G.K. Chesterton
Mr. Apron
Oct 5, 2009
Was this post really written by the author of “The Penis Monologues?”
Eric
Oct 6, 2009
Mystery isn’t the polar opposite of exploration and science, it’s an impetus for them. As you state, then misdirect. You conflate mystery in a broad sense and the mysteries of religion, then pull them apart. Either way. What would you call modern religion other than an attempt to know the unknowable? To educate and explore, as much as we can, those mysteries? You can say that they’re attempts at mind-control, will-subversion, what have you, but that’s beside the point. People turn to religion, to the night sky, to find answers. It’s the mystery that compels them.
sebastian
Oct 6, 2009
Phew, finally here. Long day! (I only just finished cleaning the chocolate sauce from my chest hair…)
Ed — that’s a classic argument with modern-day religion: why is it so DIFFICULT? Religion, once upon a time, was simply about belief. And then sacrifice. Then it became politically incorrect to sacrifice virgins. But still, it’s so hard to get yourself a bit of Christ. You have to jump through hoops. Get in there with the priest. It’s beyond retarded. (I think I wrote about that in my religiousy entry, but I forget exactly.)
Yar Hez, I am aware of the different meanings. But as you say, just curious they attributed them all to the same stem word. Was disappointed to find that ‘myth’ comes from a different derivation though… damn. Would’ve been convenient
Yes, it’s all about trying to wrap it all up neatly inside a story. We call it… justification. We didn’t run recklessly down the stairs and fall; we tripped on a piece of clothing that our sibling left there…
Claire/Zoeo: it’s certainly a ‘convenience’ thing, or perhaps simply laziness. I refuse to admit it’s a survival trait though. Imagine how advanced the world might be today if religion hadn’t quashed the various prodigies that history has produced. I think it’s much more along the lines of: we like controlling humans. Offering forgiveness and taking away responsibility for your failures is a HUGE hook. Seriously… the greatest hook: atonement for all your misdeeds.
Throw in a bit of mystery, an unattainable… and voilá.
sebastian
Oct 6, 2009
Ah, sorry Eric, we were writing at the same time
Turns out I kind of half-answered you anyway:
Religion was originally about finding that story that weaves all the mysteries together. Astrology was all about making sense of something completely wild and unknown.
But somewhere along the line it became convoluted (we humans are pretty good at twisting useful things into potentially dangerous things…)
Not saying that all religion is bad. But something like yoga is probably better than presenting yourself unto God.
I understand what you’re getting at. But we’ve believed in Gods for at least as long as we’ve had recorded history. It might be time to look elsewhere, now that we’ve seen it doesn’t really work…?
Eric
Oct 6, 2009
Ask any believer of any religion if theirs “works.” They’ll say yes. It’s your point of view versus theirs. Always will be. Imagine God as an infinite being with a very strict set of rules for imposing on His creation. (My idealized Christian God is thus, ignoring The Bible, by and large). The world we live in now is as good as it is because of Him. Without what little intercessions He’s had on our behalf, the world would truly be shit. And science will never tell us otherwise. *hearty shrug*
sebastian
Oct 6, 2009
Well, it is our responsibility to provide an alternative answer.
That’s basically what scientists and philosophers have done throughout the ages: ‘yes, that’s good… but… how about THIS?’
Whereupon they were either burnt at the stake OR it just so happened to be the right time, right place… and blam! Paradigm shift.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?
And do ‘they’ say it works for fear of what happens if they say otherwise?
Stephanie
Oct 6, 2009
Are we talking about that douche from The Pick Up Artist?
Yeah, yeah…I know we aren’t. I just felt like commenting…
Clairebear
Oct 6, 2009
Hope and fear are very important emotions.
I mentioned the hope thing before. The reason why people believe there is no other way, or that religion cannot be proven wrong, is because we are scared of what that will mean for us. It scares people to think that this is it, and that all there is, is what we can see or physically prove.o
I dont know, I would rather know than have things shrouded in mystery. The reason I am intrigued by mystery is because I want to see whats behind the veil, not to stare astounded at it. I used to ask questions in church, only to be told that true belief doesnt need those answers. I took that to mean, we don’t know so stop asking.
I can’t believe in something that I can’t fully understand. It doesnt mean I will dismiss things willy nilly, but it does mean that I want to look closer at them and work them out.
Chase
Oct 6, 2009
Fun discussion. Age old, indeed. (Well, at least a few ages…)
Not that this is a proper response, but, we may embrace the mystery simply because it is there. Ignoring it would be like ignoring the pink elephant in the room. And if we toss out the mystery, what do we do with the mystics? The ones that seem to have embraced the mystery far better than you or I, and even united with it (Enlightenment, anyone?). If their explanation is the Divine…how do we refute that?
Just the points I ponder.