Ubiquitous otherness (ICA)

This state occurs when an individual experiences that he is, for all time and in all places, bound to the inescapable power of the mystery that is present in his life; there is no where else to go; he is always on stage and can never be off stage. Movies such as "Three Days of the Condor" or "The Thirty-nine Steps" show situations in which people experience this inability to escape the situation. It may compared to G.M. Hopkins writing of the "hound of heaven" in one of his poems. There is an overwhelming awareness that the mystery is everywhere all the time, and there is nowhere to run and hide.

A dimension of this experience is a sense of awe, that is fear and fascination. The fear is that there will never be any let up; one always knows what is coming and is worn out by it. At the same time there is a fascination that it is never boring: one is intrigued by engaging with this awesome presence in one's mundane existence. Whether or not one continues trying to escape the presence of the mystery, one is aware of the futility of such a struggle. After such a time one knows one is never alone.

This state is number 6 in the ICA Other World in the midst of this World.