Humans cannot really see things eternally and/or universally.
We lack that kind of capacity.
No, we don’t lack the kind of capacity. We don’t use a large amount of our brains. But we can learn to do so and we can think of the possibility of an afterlife, eternity, and God. We can study the writings of obviously intelligent people who believe(d) in God (I’m thinking of Chesterton as I write this).
We can reflect, meditate, clear our minds of all that extraneous, unneeded junk that accumulates and look at things from a different perspective or from many different perspectives. We can realize that there are more than four dimensions, that there may be things we cannot see because our eyes physically cannot see them. We can understand that just because we can’t physically see something does not mean that it doesn’t exist. What about the universe? If the universe is everything where is it going as it grows? Where did it come from? What are black holes really? How big is the universe?
What about the possibility of reincarnation? I know the Church teaches that we are not reincarnated but it still helps to think about the possibility. An awful lot of people believe in it.
God gave us the ability to be able to do this. Many eastern religious people claim to be able to leave their bodies. I don’t see why they can’t and maybe I can learn to do that, too. Now I’m reading about the way Native Americans looked at life and eternity. There is just so much to think about and dream about and learn about.
We can also, instead of trying to understand life and existence from an eternal viewpoint, fold ourselves down so that we concentrate on only our own being and the smallest possible bit that defines ourselves, and then open ourselves up (perhaps through meditation) to find out what happens. Most people believe that we have no control over autonomic bodily functions but I learned how to regulate the temperature in my fingers. And I found it to be very easy to do. I do this now to help relax myself if I am going through a painful or frightening experience. It works. I’m amazed at the things people can do.
I’m not saying it’s always easy but it’s not that difficult. It takes time and practice and concentration, which are good in themselves, and many people find it to be very rewarding.
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