How can I discover god who is "wholly other" and transcendent
Mike, in the piece I just posted, you will see that God is not described as "wholly other", but rather that one is separated from God only by one's realization.
If you accept the notion that there is ONLY God, then separate "beings" are just other manifestations of God. Relative to help, in the Eastern traditions the long-standing notion is that when the student is ready, the Guru (or Teacher) appears. In my own personal experience, the Guru seems to be the great Assistance in the process of the Realization of God, by virtue of having been through the process and turning around and helping others. In my religion we view all the Great Teachers as Gurus, in their own time and place.
"Yet I do not see us thinking our way to god, or otherwise contacting god without god initiating that contact"
Agreed, you cannot think your way to God. But you set up the conditions for God to appear in your life by your investigating, feeling into, praying to God (even if you are coming from a place which still has its own doubts,
uncertainties and confusions).
Namaste!
Jim |
