In a sense, what I intend to do with this piece is to go back to the foundation of modern spirituality, especially the notion of spiritual seeking, which itself presupposes both some specific method or mode we commonly understand as ‘seeking’, that is,
"A seeker caught within the tale of a nation on its way up, or its way into battle, or its way into wealth, or its way into knowledge, has, both around them and within them, a telos of motivation. But what of a seeker within an ending cycle?"
Well, this is the essence of Spengler's idea of 'second religiousness' - when the Destiny arcs of a productive Culture begin to nosedive into the Ozymandian sands of historylessness, the transcendent urge that birthed the Culture is transferred to ideas of purely spiritual advance rather than continuing to pursue progress in the increasingly obstructive material and political realm.
So it is that, whereas the challenge to spirituality in the early part of a culture is 'purity' - avoiding being entirely sublimated into the productive ambitions of the Culture - the challenge in late Civilisation is to develop a spirituality that is not pure escape; that remains engaged, embodied, that 'leans in' to life rather than seeking to abscond into a realm of pure detachment.
"A seeker caught within the tale of a nation on its way up, or its way into battle, or its way into wealth, or its way into knowledge, has, both around them and within them, a telos of motivation. But what of a seeker within an ending cycle?"
Well, this is the essence of Spengler's idea of 'second religiousness' - when the Destiny arcs of a productive Culture begin to nosedive into the Ozymandian sands of historylessness, the transcendent urge that birthed the Culture is transferred to ideas of purely spiritual advance rather than continuing to pursue progress in the increasingly obstructive material and political realm.
So it is that, whereas the challenge to spirituality in the early part of a culture is 'purity' - avoiding being entirely sublimated into the productive ambitions of the Culture - the challenge in late Civilisation is to develop a spirituality that is not pure escape; that remains engaged, embodied, that 'leans in' to life rather than seeking to abscond into a realm of pure detachment.
I feel like the desire for serenity is inherently problematic