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Indeed the North American Indian refers to the 'Great Mystery', and Eastern religions (and to a more limited extent the so-called revealed religions) have their Mystics whose business it is to penetrate the Mystery.

The same dictionary as I quoted above gives as one of its four definitions that religion is a belief in a superhuman controlling power, especially in a personal (surely personified would be a better word) God or gods entitled to obedience and worship.

This definition may apply to religions as we in the West know them, but it is not apposite for all religions world wide and historically. I am going to declare that religions, or religion, have arisen because of Man's need to explain the inexplicable.

I suggest that it is true to say that all these endeavours to explain the 'Mystery' are more concerned to understand the nature of Life and in that understanding to develop a 'Way of Life’

I go further and declare that it is obvious that the search for the 'Truth' is absolutely personal and we cannot surrender any part of that responsibility to anyone.

We can be assisted or inspired by others, but that does not relieve any one of us from the responsibility of bringing our thinking into line with the that of the

Great Spirit that is in, and of, all things.