Individual fatefulness (ICA)

This is an awareness of the incredible fact that one made it into history. Of all the myriad chances of not showing up at all, one hit the right combination. There is a sense of "it's great to be alive !" and one wakes up in the morning grateful to have made it through the night. The writer/palaeontologist Loren Eisley captures this well in his description of "the snout", the amphibious creature that made the mutation from being a fish to a reptile.

A dimension of this experience is a sense of awe, that is fear and fascination. In the midst of amazement at being here at all, an individual finds himself wondering if perhaps it is all an illusion. Surely there must be a price to pay for such an unbelievable gift as one's life? It can't go on forever and there must be some catch to it; it's like being awarded the supreme grand prize – the glory of consciousness – and he doesn't quite know what to do with it. As he marvels at the wonder of life, he finds himself developing reverence for the miraculous. He knows he won't ever be able to go back the self-deprecation he knew in the past; and yearns to remain in this state, fleeting as it is. All he can do is to live his fatedness and participate in the journey he is a part of.

This state is number 33 in the ICA Other World in the midst of this World.