"MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES." Traditionally attributed to the Chinese, this phrase has found its way into countless public speeches, TV programs, novels, even pop songs. To live during periods of great change, transition, or upheaval can sometimes translate into fear about one's own personal stability. Yet living in interesting times can also mean tremendous opportunities for individual progress, as well as the potential for entire communities, countries, even civilizations, to evolve into a more humane and more spiritualized world.
From earliest times, human beings have tried to understand the seemingly random workings of the universe. In the West, Greek and Roman mythology explained the forces of nature—the seemingly inexplicable dualities of raging storms and tranquil breezes, of harsh winters and warm summers, of day and night, of land and sea—as humanlike gods who oversaw and controlled life on earth. Later, these myths gave way to Christianity, which arose quickly throughout the Roman Empire and spread across the Western world. Jesus' teachings showed humanity a new view of the one "unseen" God, who has only beneficence and love for His/Her children. And these teachings revolutionized civilization.
Nevertheless, over time religious authorities once again began to humanize the Creator, divine Spirit. Denominations within Christianity sprang up, each with different interpretations of Scripture that outlined how to accommodate or pay obeisance to a humanlike God, a God with human traits such as anger, vengeance, unpredictability, and favoritism. And as a result, ritual, tradition, mysticism, and a lot of plain old hocus-pocus began to weigh down worship and cloud spiritual enlightenment.
