The Wonder of Miracles
Adapted from the journal PARABOLA: Myth, Tradition and the Search for Meaning

Wonder, Aristotle tells us, is the beginning of all knowing. A miracle is literally something marvelous, something that arouses our wonder. In the presence of what we perceive to be a miracle, we find ourselves like children, amazed and fascinated, and wanting to know more. The miraculous comes to us as a complete surprise and challenges our complacency. The miraculous is the discovery of beauty in what had seemed, by comparison, a very drab world. The appearance of a miracle stops us, and perhaps, that is its function. Each of the miracles recorded in the world's great traditions brings the restless mind to a stop. Jehovah dividing the Red Sea, Jesus walking on water, Mohammed ascending to paradise, the Buddha overcoming yama - the list has no end.

Miracles can be large or small, seen by one or many, recorded or not. But in all cases, a miracle returns us to ourselves, seekers that we are and want to be. In the moment a miracle presents itself, our vision awakens and we recollect the sacred and the transcendent. The limited consciousness of the human mind is suspended, and consciousness experiences an unfolding. A subsequent miracle occurs if and when we choose to use this transformation as an opportunity to recognize the divine within ourselves.

Back to Articles page.

Pathways to Health ™
77 Shore Road
Mt. Sinai, NY 11766
(631) 642-2200
e-mail: info@pathwaystohealth.com

© 1997-2008 Pathways to Health. All rights reserved.