The approach of old age

“I discovered that with age my“ peak experiences ”become less intense as well as less frequent. Discussing this with other people approaching old age, I learned that something similar was happening. It seems to me that this is related to the aging process. This makes sense, because I discovered that, to some extent, I’m kind of afraid of “peak experiences”, because I’m not sure that my body can endure them. "Peak-experiences" can produce a big mess in the autonomic nervous system. Maybe loosening peak experiences is a natural way to protect the body ..

As these sharp emotional discharges subsided in my mind, something very subtle began to emerge in my mind, something like sediment deposited from insights, insights and other life experiences that were important, including tragic ones. This is a kind of united consciousness, and it has its advantages, as well as its disadvantages, in relation to the “peak-experiences”. For myself, I define this single creation simply as the simultaneous perception of the sacred and the mundane, or the mysterious, something very constant and achievable without any effort.
From the point of view of eternity, I perceive mythically, poetically or symbolically all ordinary things. It is like experiencing Zen. There is nothing excluded and nothing special, a person lives in the world of miracles all the time. There is a paradox in it, because it is wonderful, but it does not create a breakthrough.

This type of consciousness has something in common with “peak-experiences” - awe, mystery, amazement, aesthetic delight. But here the presence of these elements is more likely permanent than culminating. If for “peak experiences” you want to use as a paradigm or model a sexual orgasm that rises to a peak or a climax, and then drops to the end and ends, then this other type of experience must be presented differently. I would use the high plateau here. It means living at a constantly high level in the sense of enlightenment or awakening, or Zen. in the lightness of the miraculous, but without something special. It means accepting the completely unintentionally sharpness and accuracy of the beauty of things, but not making a lot of noise out of it, because it happens every hour, you know, all the time.

Another aspect that I noted is that you can sit and look at something wonderful for hours and admire it every second. An orgasm cannot last an hour! In this sense, the "plateau experience" is better, it has great advantages over the climax, orgasm or peak. There is a descent down to the valley, and life on a high plateau does not imply this, it is more everyday.

Another aspect of this experience is that it is associated with serenity rather than emotionality. We usually imagine emotionality as something explosive. However, peace and tranquility are also needed in psychology. We need serenity as well as keen emotionality.
I think; that someday "plateau-experiences" will become available to instrumental observation. "Peak experiences" are associated with automatic discharging, which can be easily noted with the appropriate tools. An EEG, or biofeedback technique, may be suitable for this kind of measurement, detection, and learning of serenity, peace, and peace.

If we learn to work with it, it will mean that we can teach our children serenity ...
It is important that the "plateau experiences" essentially informative. Almost by definition, they represent the testimony of the world. “Plateau experience” - evidence of reality. It means to see symbolically, mythically, poetically, transcendentally, to see the wonderful, the unbelievable — I consider all this to be part of the real world, and not only the belonging of dreamers.
In the "plateau experience" there is a sense of certainty. It seems that it is very, very good to be able to see the world as mysterious, and not only concrete, not to reduce it to behavioral, not to limit it to a simple "here and now." You know, if you limit yourself to a simple “here and now” - this is a reduction.

It is easy to fall into sentimentality, speaking of the beauty of the world, but in fact the "plateau-experiences" are well described in the extensive literature. It is not that the standard descriptions of mystical experiences proper, but rather what the world looks like when the mystical experience actually takes place. If a mystical experience changes your life, you treat your deeds like great mystics. For example, the great saints could have mystical revelations, but they could manage the monastery. You can trade groceries and pay taxes, but keep this feeling of witnessing the world, similar to the great moments of mystical perception. ”