religious or spiritual experience

So I suggest that spirituality and religion start not from a system of belief that offers comfort and meaning, but from a first-hand glimpse of a different way of relating to the vicissitudes of life. And this shows up not as a thought, a wish or an interpretation, but as a direct experience. It is seen and felt, not construed or imagined. It is

Why did humans evolve with religion, with the capacity to experience spiritual ecstasy, to deeply feel that there is this Whole? Because it was rewarded, it worked and continued. Why? Because of the Actuality. We need to grasp and grapple with our environment — its strange ways and our lack of ultimate control.

Spirituality and religion originate in a particular kind of felt experience. These experiences are typically short-lived, surprising and uncontrollable, but they seem, to the person having them, to be highly significant and attractive.