"Because here's something else that's weird but true: in the day-to day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship—be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles—is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness."
— David Foster Wallace, This Is Water
Our understanding of the word "worship" often comes with heavy religious overtones. All of the world's religions have some kind of symbol or ritual dedicated to what they believe is the proper method of worshipping the creator. However, in a quote from David Foster Wallace, worship is described in a way which runs much deeper than that.
The notion of "Worship" implies that your attention is focused solely upon whatever object is before you (physically or in thought). The significance of this fact becomes apparent should you come to the realize that attention is the root of being. Attention determines the observer's present ecosystem of thought, therefore it must also be true that it shapes the sentiments of the witness, when the witness is brought to regard those thoughts.
Worship transcends religious practices through this lens, and becomes a universal tool for personal development. It encourages a disciplined approach to attention that can lead to greater self-awareness and emotional intelligence. When we direct our full attention towards something—be it through meditation, art, study, or our daily activities—we are essentially practicing a form of worship that refines our mental faculties. After all, repetition is the simplest form of hypnosis.
Therefore, understanding worship as a method of honing attention allows us to appreciate its potential impact beyond the confines of a traditional approach. It becomes a versatile practice that fosters deeper connections with ourselves, the world we inhabit, and ultimately one another.
Religion offers a way to turn most of our attention towards something greater, often given some body or symbolism, which is no more than a corporeal form of "Other," while rejecting some song and dance of the material world which is divisive, making us feel separate from this "Other." I'm using this term, but it doesn't matter what you call this; whether it be "God", "The Divine", "Allah", "Universal Self", whatever is required to communicate the magnitude of its importance. This "Other" keeps all thoughts operating at a higher level, allowing you to rid yourself of many questions which otherwise plague the landscape of self-serving thoughts.
Self-serving thoughts, in this context, refers to any though which has no answer or immediate actionable consequence. These thoughts inspire us to continue thinking, until we begin thinking about a thought about a thought about a thought, being so human as to continue holding the mirror up to our own mirror. There is no easy way to alleviate this, as thought is a mere consequence of the conscious observer, rather than something which can be forcefully regulated.
By focusing our conscious attention through worship, we are not only engaging in a spiritual practice but also honing our ability to concentrate on what truly matters to us, and that begins to shape a better reality for ourselves. This shift in focus can elevate our mental anguish and contribute to an overall sense of well-being and purpose.
How can I worship if I am kept painfully aware? If thoughts are ceaseless, if I am subject to some consequence of biological components which result in my ability to perceive existence? What does it mean to be a conscious observer? Perhaps more importantly, how does any of this help me pay my bills? There are many things in the age of iPad -brain that encourage people to perpetuate this avalanche of never-ending mental anguish. How you see through it is is dependent upon you, as the observer.
- Binx